


Juno Steel and the House of Secrets

by CarnalCoffeeBean



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Canon-Typical Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Gen, Juno and Rita are BFFs, Original Character Death(s), Rita helps on cases, Rita on all the cases okay, Script Format, The Penumbra Minibang, after most of the season two finale but before the set-up for season three, casefic, it's a maybe-haunted house okay, spooky stuff, tags added as they apply, thriller/horror/something along those lines, time-amorphous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-23 02:25:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17674649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarnalCoffeeBean/pseuds/CarnalCoffeeBean
Summary: Juno Steel's dealt with spooky before, but when an actress from one of Rita’s favorite spooky streams turns up with what seems to be a simple missing items case, he isn’t quite prepared for the twists and turns thrown his way. Can he figure out what's going on before it's too late? Featuring: a raven, a maybe-haunted house,Rita, technology, break-ins, holograms, surprise guests, and did I mentionRITA?





	1. Episode 1: Scenes 1 and 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's art is by the truly amazing Jasper (captaincravatthecapricious on tumblr), and I'm truly indebted to them. It's beautiful! It's exciting! They're great! [ Go check them out!](https://captaincravatthecapricious.tumblr.com/post/182590983105/image-description-juno-steel-at-his-desk-before)

  * [Image Description: A book cover with a black background and blue-white whispers of smoke crossing the image from left to right and bottom to middle. The lower half reads, JUNO STEEL AND THE HOUSE OF SECRETS, in tall grey-and-blue block lettering. A glow drifts through the smoke from left to right. As it does, a glowing face split into three--from left to right, Rita's, Juno's, and someone else's--appears and disappears.]

# Episode 1

### Characters:

  * **Juno Steel:**  
Our leading lady. Long-suffering, tired, more prickly than usual due to… events. Needs a vacation. On second thought, would be terrible at vacations. What do you even do on vacation?
  * **Rita _____:**  
Everyone’s favorite secretary / technowhiz / paper spaceship folder. Deserves a raise. Loves the _Rubortem Lane_ series, especially Avery Lee.
  * **Avery Lee:**  
An ambitious actress, aspiring to greatness but right now settling for the lead role of Lorelai in season four of _Rubortem Lane_. A flair for the dramatic, overly fond of the spooky aesthetic and her pet raven. _(voice direction: smooth, soft, soprano, slight Southern drawl)_
  * **Morai:**  
Avery Lee's pet raven; intelligent, for a bird. Rather taken with either Juno himself or the act of mimicking his voice; it's difficult to tell. _(voice direction: bird)_
  * **Rebecca Heart:**  
Dr. Heart to nearly everyone, working with the universe’s biggest cosmetological company to develop new and interesting ways to make you—yes, you!—look as beautiful as you feel. Cranky, curt, clinical, puts up with a lot for her fiancée, Avery.  _(voice direction: clipped, brusque, low alto/high tenor)_
  * **Juliet Lavender:**  
Plays Madison, the dead sister of Avery Lee’s character in _Rubortem Lane_ , and is Avery’s best friend in real life. Similar ambitions curtailed by dutiful family care. _(voice direction: a little rough-and-tumble, alto, no discernible accent)_
  * **Cecil Kanagawa:**  
Cecil Kanagawa, director, producer, and host of _Places, Faces, and Maces_ , _From the Jaws of Death_ , and most recently, _Terror Time: an Educational Show for the Under-Tens_ , all exclusively from Kanagawa Productions. But you all knew that already, didn’t you? (awful laughter)

* * *

  * ## **OPENING SCENE:**

  * [SOUND: Nothing. Stillness.]
  * CONDUCTOR:
  * Good evening, Traveler. And welcome—to the Penumbra.
  * [SOUND: Tracks, chugging along, typical trolley noises fading in. _That Song_ plays softly in the background.]
  * Take your seat, please, take your seat. The junction lies just ahead, so if you’ll allow me a moment…
  * [SOUND: Wheels screech, then resume the same steady pace.]
  * Although Juno Steel’s latest mystery has been neatly wrapped up for a few days now, some small, strange elements have been left to linger on the detective’s mind. He’s eager to take on any case as a form of distraction, but what blows in next through the door—or the window—may prove to be more complicated than first appearances.
  * Our next stop...
  * [SOUND: Brakes squeal, halt.]
  * _Juno Steel and the House of Secrets._

* * *

  * ## **SCENE 1:**

  * [SETTING: The main hallway of House Rubortem: a little dingy and faded, but mostly retaining the spooky splendor of a bygone era. Things are a little mixed up; ancient Martian artefacts hang and sit alongside some of Earth’s more conventional haunted offerings, but when you’re a few millennia into the mix, as long as it's kinda on theme, it's fine, right? In the middle of the hallway, AVERY LEE, playing LORELAI RUBORTEM, stands, her hair wafting gently in the chilly breeze of an open window.]
  * [SOUND: Spooky tremolo music in the background]
  * LORELAI (Avery):
  * I’m here to help, if you please.  
(a pause)  
Spirits?
  * [SOUND: Dark laughter, several voices coalescing into one—MADISON (Juliet)'s]
  * MADISON (Juliet):
  * Help? Lorelai, I’m afraid we’re far beyond that.
  * LORELAI:
  * (strained but dignified)
  * Sister, there’s no reason to— 
  * MADISON:
  * No reason to what? To be hostile? To defend myself? To fight for my right to live, same as you?
  * LORELAI:
  * This, what you are now—it isn’t living. You know that. This house, it will take everything of you, leave you just another nameless ghost of the many haunting these halls. I offer you peace: an end.
  * MADISON:
  * And you? Haven’t you been haunting these halls all these years, the same as I, Lorelai? The only difference between us is breath and blood, and that’s not so—
  * [SOUND: The howling starts, then quickly subsides. MADISON’s regained control.]
  * Not so much of a difference after all. You see?
  * LORELAI:
  * I’m afraid I don’t, sister.
  * MADISON:
  * What are you so afraid of? Why do you fear me? You can’t even—
  * [SOUND: The howling starts again. It takes a few seconds longer to die down this time.]
  * Can’t even look me in the eye. Can’t even call me by my name, can you.
  * LORELAI:
  * For a long, blessed time, I had a sister by my side—someone in whom I could confide. A year ago, she died, and I thought she had escaped this place. I grieved. I could say her name with surety: with pain, yes, but with happiness, too, for the things we’d shared.  
Now?
  * MADISON:
  * What’s so different, Lorelai? I’m still me. You could join us, you know. Become one with the house, explore all the hidden places we knew were here but couldn’t see—an adventure, you and—
  * [SOUND: the howling again: it rises and rises. MADISON's clearly having trouble with it.]
  * LORELAI:
  * I wish it could be so. But you know what this house does to those it tastes of, those it’s claimed.
  * MADISON:
  * (out of the swell of howling)
  * NO! Lorelai, please!
  * LORELAI:
  * The house takes care of its own; so do I. Be at peace, sister. Finally.
  * [SOUND: A shot]

* * *

  * ## **SCENE 2:**

  * [SETTING: JUNO's office. RITA has her feet propped up, talking on her comms. JUNO’s door is closed.]
  * [SOUND: A _bzzt!_ noise, like there’s bad connection or something. Electric fuzz that continues into RITA's dialogue]
  * RITA:
  * ...and then Lorelai just _shoots_ her with the plasma gun that only works on ghosts—her own sister! Her twin! The person she loved more than anyone in the whole universe! Can you believe it, Frannie? I just ain’t never seen anything like it in my whole life!
  * (a pause)
  * Well, that’s work, though; that’s every day. In the streams, though, did you ever—
  * {SOUND: A beep!]
  * Oh, well, there’s my delivery, gotta go, talk to you later, love you, byeeeeeee.
  * [SOUND: A hang-up beep]
  * (calling out)
  * Mistah Steel, I’m going to go get that delivery downstairs, okay? Mistah Steel?
  * [SOUND: A knock on the door]
  * Mistah Steeeeeeeeeeeeel, you takin’ a nap in there?
  * JUNO:
  * Fine, Rita! Just—go!
  * RITA:
  * Alright, geez, don’t gotta be so cranky about it…
  * [SOUND: The door closes. Rita has left the office.]
  * JUNO:
  * (a sigh)
  * [SOUND: Something’s poured into a glass. A swallow. The glass is set down.]
  * [SOUND: A few clicks and clacks, mind-numbingly show. Obvious keyboard pecking, speeding up a little. Continues through the narration at varying speeds.]
  * JUNO (NARRATION):
  * They say that taking your mind off something can be the key to seeing the bigger picture when you come back around to it.
  * [SOUND: JUNO’s theme]
  * It takes a special kind of person to be a private eye—mainly, someone who can only get their mind off something if they pry it off with a crowbar. My name’s Juno Steel, and I just so happen to be one. Figured out a shortcut to distracting myself. It’s not too hard; you can buy it by the bottle at any corner store worth the corner it’s on. Works sometimes.
  * Seeing the bigger picture after, though—that’s the part I never figured out. Most days, no matter how much time you spend waiting for it to come into focus, it just looks the same.
  * [SOUND: In the background, behind the closed door, a whoosh, a flapping of wings]
  * Like this last case. Theft’s solved, customer’s happy, thief’s behind bars—for now, anyways—but that name...  
Just a flash, one little word, so quick I thought I’d imagined it—
  * [SOUND: A muffled, _“All seeing, all seemed!”_ ]
  * Hell, maybe I had. It sounded like—like someone I should have forgotten a long time ago, someone I knew better than to trust but still wanted to, and hang the consequences.
  * Thought I’d put it behind me, had worked through it after all these years, but—one word. It’s weird, how quick it all rushes back. Old ghosts in the same places you’d left ‘em, just waiting for a chance to break free. This one’d gotten loose and had been haunting me day and night ever since, resulting in a lot of sleepless nights and… bad decisions, probably.
  * [SOUND: The door closes. A muffled, _“caw!”_ ]
  * RITA (MUFFLED):
  * What are you doing here?  
Mistah Steel!
  * JUNO:
  * (calls back)
  * In a second!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I’d decided today that enough was enough. I was going to step back, clear my head, and try to make sense of it after.  
That was the plan, anyways.
  * [SOUND: JUNO takes another sip and puts the glass back on the table.]
  * [SOUND: Muffled: whooshing wings]
  * RITA (MUFFLED):
  * _Boss, you really oughta look at this!_
  * JUNO:
  * Is it a case?
  * RITA:
  * Well, no, but—
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * (sighs)
  * And if there wasn’t a _case_ coming in to distract me from the memories taking up space in my head and not paying rent, I might as well do it by beating my highest score for Jovian solitaire. Again.
  * [Image Description: Juno Steel at his desk before his computer, looking extremely bored yet determined. His head rests on one hand, and he pokes at his keyboard with the other.]
  * RITA (MUFFLED):
  * Mistah Steel, there’s a _bird_ in here!
  * RAVEN:
  * CAW!
  * [SOUND: The door opens.]
  * JUNO:
  * What?
  * [SOUND: Flapping wings]
  * RAVEN:
  * All seeing, all seemed!
  * RITA:
  * I swear, Mistah Steel, I just had the window open a bit for some fresh air, and then I got back in here and she’s flying around like she owns the place, feathers everywhere and squawking and— 
  * RAVEN:
  * Caw!
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, just like that, and didja ever see a bird that big, boss? I ain’t ever seen one aside from _Rubortem Lane_ , looks like one of them _ravens_ , they’re huge and so’s she and they’re black and so’s she and they say “all seeing, all seemed” and so’s she and they’ve got them lit-up scales all down their backs and wings all pretty and so’s she, but —
  * [SOUND: The bird flaps across the room.]
  * RITA:
  * AH! There, it nearly got me!
  * Oh boss, whaddawe do, whaddawe do— 
  * JUNO:
  * I don’t know! Uh... shoo! Go! Leave!
  * RAVEN:
  * (irritated)
  * CAW! All seeing, all _shoo_!
  * [SOUND: Wings flapping, pecking]
  * RITA:
  * Well, and now she’s on the monitor, she’s going at the keys and if she breaks any of my equipment it’s gonna take a lotta time to fix it, a lotta that’s special built by me and you know that don’t come cheap, boss— 
  * [SOUND: A knock]
  * RITA:
  * (calls)
  * Just a minute!
  * (to Juno)
  * Mistah Steel!
  * JUNO:
  * (sighs)
  * Here, birdy-birdy.
  * [SOUND: Wings flapping]
  * JUNO:
  * Ow! Hey, that hurts, let go!
  * RAVEN:
  * _Ow!_
  * AVERY (MUFFLED):
  * Oh, no, is she misbehaving?
  * [SOUND: The door opens.]
  * AVERY:
  * I do try to keep her with me, but that lovely girl, she’s a mind of her own, you know. Very intelligent, ravens. She just sees an open window and has to know what’s inside.
  * [SOUND: Whatever a content, nuzzling bird sounds like. Maybe deep, throaty cooing? She settles down on JUNO's shoulder.]
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, yeah. Could you call her off? I think she’s about to take a bite out of my ear, and I’m already down one body part.
  * AVERY:
  * (cooing)
  * Oh, she likes you! What a good girl!
  * MORAI:
  * (directly in Juno’s ear)
  * BODY PART!
  * JUNO:
  * Ah!
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, she's even mimicking you. Ah, well. It's so nice you're making friends, Morai, but come back to mother!
  * [SOUND: wings flapping]
  * MORAI:
  * (mimicking JUNO’s voice)
  * Ah!
  * AVERY:
  * Yes, I know, it’s all quite distressing, but it’ll be alright soon.
  * JUNO:
  * Can I help— 
  * RITA:
  * (faintly)
  * Avery... Lee…
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, heart’s blood! Are you, perhaps… a fan?
  * RITA:
  * (starts slow and breathy, goes into Full Excited Rita Mode)
  * Avery Lee, of _Rubortem Lane_ , who plays the lead character Lorelai Luna Rubortem, the tragically widowed and haunted countess of House Rubortem, where there are a thousand ghosts whispering secrets, nearly all of them hers?
  * (rounding on Juno)
  * You know, the one I told you about, the one where she defeats that coven of evil Plutonian vampires with only the sunlight reflected on her raven hair and a few terrifically placed mirrors? That took a whole lotta angle calculations, but you never see that in the streams, do ya.
  * (back to Avery)
  * You, you, you—your series premiere is in four days!
  * AVERY:
  * Yes, thank you, it is. It’s a real honor. We’re such a little show, and yet— 
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, real touching. So now that we know each other— 
  * RITA:
  * MISTAH STEEL!
  * JUNO:
  * Mind telling me why your bird was trying to rip apart my shoulder?
  * MORAI (raven):
  * Caw!
  * [SOUND: MORAI clicks her beak.]
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, she would never! And we don’t quite have all souls accounted for yet, but I suppose— 
  * RITA:
  * Sorry, Ms. Lee, the boss is real cranky today, has been ever since—well, just ever since, really, but ‘specially today.
  * JUNO:
  * (very cranky)
  * Cranky?
  * RITA:
  * (steamrolling _right on_ through JUNO)
  * I’m Rita, by the way, and that’s Mistah Steel. Do you want coffee? Tea? Sausage snacks? I’ve got the cutest lil’ sausage snacks, get ‘em from the deli just outside. I bet your bird’ll like ‘em too. You know what, lemme go get some of ‘em right now, won’t take a second, be right back!
  * [SOUND: She bumps into someone.]
  * Oof! Well, excuse me, I was just going out, ma’am, didn’t see ya there, goodbye!
  * DR. HEART:
  * Pardon. Avery, is everything alright?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And that made three. All of them were well matched in dark colors with a hint of iridescence; Avery wore a long, black dress that clung to her like she was aiming to make a break for it, and her companion a black silk suit that suited her just as well.
  * Avery looked like your typical starlet: long, black hair softly waving, long limbs, long everything; nothing special except in all the ways money could buy. But her companion—I’d seen eyes like that before. Not often, but enough to know roughly what you'd have to survive to have 'em. Eyes like that could size you up, cut you to pieces, and not bother sweeping what’s left of you under the rug, all in seconds. Sharp eyes, quick, harder than...
  * She’d seen some trouble in her life, and from the look of it, trouble’d taken one look at her and up and run, screaming, out the door.
  * DR. HEART:
  * Detective Steel.
  * JUNO:
  * And you are…
  * DR. HEART:
  * Dr. Heart.
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, just wonderful, darling, you’re finally here! Mr. Steel, we were told you were the best in Hyperion, and we do need the best—only the best for you, my Heart!
  * JUNO:
  * (suspicious)
  * Who told you that?
  * MORAI:
  * (an imitation of CECIL’s laughter)
  * AVERY:
  * Why, yes, darling, you’re absolutely right! What a smart girl.
  * Cecil Kanagawa, of course, just a lovely fellow. He told us you were the only one worth having in the business, none better, said you’d cleared up that tragic circumstance with Cassandra, the poor thing.
  * JUNO:
  * ... you know what? Just took a case this morning, and it’s a pretty big one, too, so I don’t think I’ll have the time— 
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, but detective, you simply must! She’s been in such a state!
  * JUNO:
  * (cautious; he’s dealt with pet owners before)
  * … who?
  * DR. HEART:
  * She means me.
  * JUNO:
  * (carefully)
  * Oh.
  * Is anything... wrong?
  * DR. HEART:
  * Yes.
  * AVERY:
  * (at the same time as HEART, overly dramatic)
  * Why, of _course_!
  * DR. HEART:
  * An item of great value to me has been taken from my private quarters, and I’d like it back with… minimal agitation.
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, detective, you simply must help us! We’re just—we're at our wit’s end!
  * DR. HEART:
  * Hardly, but hopefully you can expedite this process. 
  * [SOUND: Shuffling clothes; DR. HEART pulls a drive out of her pocket.]
  * Detective, do you know what this is?
  * JUNO:
  * (proudly; RITA’s been giving him lessons)
  * Oh, that? Yeah, it’s a TCB300 drive.
  * DR. HEART:
  * No, detective.
  * This is an example of what was stolen.
  * My company is working on some of the very latest in cosmetic research and technology, and I believe someone obtained one of these and has been trying to access its contents.
  * JUNO:
  * (pressing the point)
  * But it’s still a—
  * [SOUND: Door opening, dropping bags and bags of snacks]
  * RITA:
  * Oh, wow! Is that the new TCB400?
  * DR. HEART:
  * (not smugly, but like. Barely.)
  * It is.
  * RITA:
  * Oooooh, can I just take a little peek? Lemme see—this is brand new on the market, can’t even get this in those fancy electronic stores, not 'til next month, I heard! All new bells and whistles, security features like nothing else out now, real fancy, Mistah Steel, real high-quality.
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * RITA:
  * OH! And Mrs. Avery, I got your snacks for you and your birdy friend right here! I didn’t know what you or she liked, so, I, uh…
  * [SOUND: A heavy bag is rustled through]
  * Well, I got a little of everything, just in case!
  * AVERY:
  * How terribly thoughtful of you, Rita. My Heart, you’ll be alright with the detective while we go have a bit of refreshment? I know how upsetting this must be for you.
  * DR. HEART:
  * Of course.
  * [SOUND: The door closes.]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * For all that talk of upset and pain, I didn't think there'd been a single emotion on Heart’s face the entire time she’d been in here. Either the lady could've really made a killing off acting, same as her partner, or she just wasn’t that worried.
  * JUNO:
  * So when did you—
  * DR. HEART:
  * Now. Detective. I know who stole the drive and where it must be. Your job is to get it back, destroy any evidence of the crime, and fabricate an excellent, thrilling tale of your adventures for my fiancée. Under no circumstance are you to reveal to her who it was who took it.
  * JUNO:
  * And why’s that?
  * DR. HEART:
  * Is that really your concern?
  * JUNO:
  * Devil’s in the details, Heart, and it’s typically my job to hunt them out. Something so nice and neat, all tied up in a bow? You could smell that stink all the way past the Kuiper Belt.
  * DR. HEART:
  * (a sigh)
  * I _told_ her this wasn’t necessary.
  * The reason for the secrecy is that Juliet Lavender is the thief.
  * (a beat)
  * Avery’s co-star and best friend. Avery had let her into my private office a month ago to do something or the other, and that same day, my files went missing.
  * JUNO:
  * And there’s no one else—
  * DR. HEART:
  * She is who did it; there are no other alternatives. My company’s secrets are closely guarded, and there was no other breach in security at that time, _detective_.
  * JUNO:
  * (skeptical)
  * You’re putting a lot of trust in your security team, which, in my experience—
  * DR. HEART:
  * —has never failed me before. We use Lacerte Security; I trust you’ve heard of them?
  * JUNO:
  * I’ve heard of them, sure. Not known for their morals—
  * DR. HEART:
  * I don’t hire people based on morals, detective. We pay our security teams enough so that they won’t be tempted, morals or no. I hire people based on results.
  * Most of what Kanagawa said about you was simple stories. But he did say you were quick, thorough, and stubborn, and he won my fiancée over with talk of your bravery and stoicism.
  * I’d like to keep in her good graces for obvious reasons, and if you can retrieve my property while doing so, so much the better.
  * [SOUND: A pause: muffled, in the background, Rita and Avery laughing. Bonding. Maybe a raven caw? Oh, no.]
  * JUNO:
  * Okay, fine. Let’s say it’s as open-and-shut as you think it’ll be. I’m looking for this—
  * DR. HEART:
  * TCB400. She shouldn’t have been able to access its contents; as your secretary said, the drive comes with its own high-level security.
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, that. If the office is out, then do you have any idea where it should be?
  * DR. HEART:
  * Juliet's apartment.
  * JUNO:
  * And why do you think that?
  * DR. HEART:
  * There's no possible reason she'd keep it at her place of work; too many prying eyes and curious, greedy hands. The apartment and the set are where she spends 90% of her time, and as for the other 10%, I highly doubt she hid it under her ailing mother’s pillow.
  * JUNO:
  * Her mother’s—sick. Money. You think she wants to sell it, maybe get enough to take care of her.
  * DR. HEART:
  * It’s possible.
  * (a pause)
  * She stole my company’s secrets, my intellectual property. I was under the impression you were a _detective_ , detective, not an arbiter of moral judgement in Hyperion.
  * JUNO:
  * I’m _not_ , but—
  * DR. HEART:
  * (sighs)
  * If you must know, the contents of this file deal with, in an absurd oversimplification, “holographic” facial reconstruction. A branch of ExQua—the company I work for, of course—specializes in volunteer work with veterans of the War coming home, getting them reacclimated to society. This work, which was devised to aid them, is what she stole, and I have no doubt research like this would go for a large profit in any cosmetic company seeking to gain an edge.
  * But if the case and its moral failings are beneath you, detective…
  * JUNO:
  * It isn’t. I just like to know who and what I’m working for, especially when one of my clients is planning on me lying to her fiancée before I’ve even started.
  * DR. HEART:
  * She is… fond of Juliet. The truth would not sit well with her, if she chose to believe it at all.
  * JUNO:
  * From what I've seen, lying to your fiancée—
  * DR. HEART:
  * Are you in an expert in the business of relationships, by chance, detective?
  * JUNO:
  * (bitter—he’s thinking back, not for the first time today)
  * No.
  * DR. HEART:
  * Then I suggest you refrain from meddling in things you do not fully understand. Do we have an agreement?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Dr. Heart was someone you couldn’t watch too closely when you stumbled into her orbit—mind sharper than a plasma knife, colder than Pluto’s north pole, clearer than the vacuum of space. Mentioning Cecil by name didn't exactly give me a warm, fuzzy feeling, either. It was more like that feeling you get right before the knife cuts, when you know it's coming but not the exact second, waiting for the inevitable cold burn of it and, hopefully, the mess you'd have to clean up after. All told, I wasn’t feeling great.
  * But—
  * It was a case. Maybe not the most interesting, but… better than solitaire.
  * [SOUND: Muffled, Rita and Avery laughing]
  * Besides, Rita’d kill me if I didn’t.
  * JUNO:
  * Sure.
  * [SOUND: JUNO's office door opens.]
  * RITA:
  * —and then there’s the time when Lorelai took the banshee’s curse and threw it into the Black Pool of Tears, and didn’t it just remind you of—
  * AVERY:
  * — _Saturn Serpentine_ , my word, the arc of the voiceless interlopers who could only speak through others! I told the director, Stan, you know, Stan, I told him someone would recognize that plot beat, but— 
  * RITA:
  * Aw, don’t feel too bad, I only remembered it ‘cause the Black Pool of Tears was so similar to—
  * AVERY:
  * —to the Airlocked Denizens’ Area, absolutely, and—
  * DR. HEART:
  * Oh.
  * JUNO:
  * Oh no.
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, darling! We were just talking about you. Well, you and a few other things, you know how it is. Are you and the detective all settled?
  * You will take care of my Heart, won’t you, Detective Steel?
  * RITA:
  * Of course he will!
  * Right, Mistah Steel?
  * JUNO:
  * (in that tone you get when you’re asked to “take care” of someone who’s wildly more competent than you’re ever likely to be)
  * Yeah. Right, yep.
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, but look at the time! We simply must be going. I’ll send along a few things, though, Rita, something to decorate the office and give a bit of protection. It’s just what you need, after all, on a case like this.
  * RITA:
  * Oh, no worries, Miss Avery! Mistah Steel’s the best of the best, no luck needed! 
  * AVERY:
  * I’m sure, but it never hurts. It was a genuine pleasure meeting you both. Thank you so much for helping us, detective!
  * [SOUND: The raven swoops over and starts pecking at JUNO’s eyepatch strings, then a shiny earring back]
  * MORAI:
  * Help us!
  * JUNO:
  * Hey!
  * AVERY:
  * Morai, you’ll have time to play with your new friend later. No, give that back. Come along now!
  * DR. HEART:
  * Good day, Mr. Steel, Rita.
  * RITA:
  * Bye, Miss Avery! See you soon!
  * [SOUND: door closes]
  * JUNO:
  * (grumbling under his breath)
  * Lousy bird, trying to steal my—
  * RITA:
  * _Mis! Tah! Steel! Ohhhhhhhh my gosh Avery Lee is the most wonderful, magnificent, kind, lovely person I’ve ever met—_
  * JUNO:
  * (over Rita)
  * Sure, sure, yep. Right. Case, Rita?
  * RITA:
  * —in my _whole life_ , I swear boss, they just don’t make people like that anymore, you know what she said? She said she’d give us some lucky talismans, and she knows all about those, you gotta to be on _Rubortem Lane_ , kinda, ‘cause of all the spooks, but she really likes it too. I read a special interview, it’s kinda hard to get anything on the show, you know, it’s not that big, gotta follow all the little blogs for it, but—
  * JUNO:
  * (over Rita again)
  * Rita. The case?
  * _Rita!_
  * RITA:
  * What? Oh! Oh, yeah, sure thing, boss.
  * Dr. Heart’s lost her super-important drive, you need to find it before the bad stuff happens, Avery’s real worried, no leads yet. Whaddaya need?
  * JUNO:
  * Anything you can get on Juliet Lavender, for starters.
  * RITA:
  * (a gasp)
  * Juliet Lavender? You think—you think she did it? But why?
  * JUNO:
  * Money, according to Heart.
  * She’s not the only lead, but she’s a good starting point. Try and figure out why Heart’s so focused on her.
  * RITA:
  * Well, that’s not real hard, boss. Juliet doesn’t really like ‘er—hasn’t ever since they met. Doesn’t think she’s right for Avery. Blogs say _she_ wanted to be with Avery, which would’ve just been the _sweetest_ thing, childhood friends to lovers an’ all, but— 
  * JUNO:
  * Wait, really?
  * RITA:
  * That’s what the 'net says, anyways. 
  * JUNO:
  * Huh. Well, you know what always spoils a good romance.
  * RITA:
  * Sentient Venusian flesh-eating vapor fields.
  * JUNO:
  * Crime, lies, and—what?
  * RITA:
  * Really, Mistah Steel, you gotta watch more streams.
  * JUNO:
  * Just—find out anything you can on Juliet. After that, look into ExQua R&D, would you?
  * RITA:
  * Sure thing, but it won’t be easy...
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Near impossible, as it turned out. Rita did a little research, and I did some poking around of my own. Nothing too interesting turned up on Juliet. Older brother died a while back, sick mom still living—and even that took a few hours for Rita to confirm. Other than that? Drier than the Martian desert in the middle of a radiation-baked sandstorm.
  * Looked into Dr. Heart, too, for what it was worth. Didn’t find much on her either, but there was plenty on her company. ExQua Cosmetics: the company claimed to be “the top tier for blending technology and beauty”. Films that could change your face’s shape, contacts to gradually shift your real eye color, devices for lengthening noses, stiffening chins—they had everything you'd ever need for eternal beauty, provided you were able to pay. Made sense that Heart knew the Kanagawas—if anyone would be interested in this sort of thing, it was them. ExQua paid their security team a hell of a lot, too—like Heart said, probably enough to tamp down any urge to rat them out.
  * So with my other leads dried up, I took the one I'd been given and turned to some old-fashioned digging…



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'm going to be doing a bit of linking down here at the bottom of each chapter to what I'm calling an "In Media Res." It's a bit of prose that gives flavor and backstory to what's going on in the story, but was mainly written because I missed writing prose so much. There's nothing that will affect the story plot-wise, so feel free to skip. At the end of the fic is a link that'll take you to the next part of _Juno Steel and the House of Secrets_ , if it's up.
> 
>  
> 
> [In Media Res: Avery Lee](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17702444)


	2. Ep. 1, Scenes 3 and 4

  * ## **SCENE THREE**

  * [SETTING: JULIET's apartment. A small, dingy, one-room thing]
  * [SOUND: Lock-opening chime]
  * JUNO:
  * Aaaaaaaaaand… there we go. Rita, you got the layout of this place?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, but—uh, boss? It’s only one room.
  * JUNO:
  * You don’t say.
  * RITA:
  * From what the blogs say, she doesn’t spend a lotta time there—they keep her busy at the set, and then she goes to take care of her mom.
  * JUNO:
  * How come you can you find out all this stuff about Juliet and nothing about Dr. Heart?
  * RITA:
  * Well, sometimes, Mistah Steel, some people like to keep their personal lives private, and some other people don’t mind. You don’t see me askin’ about every minute you’re not around.
  * JUNO:
  * Honestly, it’s not that hard to figure out: drinking or getting into trouble. Now, if you were going to hide a super-important, super-tiny computer thing— 
  * RITA:
  * The TCB400! I’m tellin’ ya, boss, you can fit so much data in there, it’s amazin’, I mean, I know ExQua Cosmetics is high-up with their technology, but to get it before— 
  * JUNO: 
  * Yeah, that—where would you hide it? In an apartment with—
  * [SOUND: Bump, shifting around]
  * JUNO: 
  * —furniture older ‘n rattier than pre-sanctuaried Earth, a few mostly empty shelves, and some weird-smelling envelopes. Old radio, a fridge... 
  * [SOUND: A hand running along a flat surface?]
  * Yeah, nothing. I don’t even see a computer in here.
  * RITA:
  * There’s gotta be one, boss. Everyone’s got one—even you.
  * JUNO:
  * I’m looking, and unless it’s hiding under the ugliest blanket in the world—
  * [SOUND: A blanket being pulled off something]
  * JUNO:
  * Huh. It was.
  * RITA:
  * What’d I tell ya. Now, you see where the TCB port is?
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah.
  * RITA:
  * … is anything in there?
  * JUNO:
  * No.
  * (a pause)
  * She wouldn't just leave it in her computer, Rita.
  * RITA:
  * Doesn’t hurt to check.
  * JUNO:
  * Well, it's not there. Could you, uh…
  * RITA:
  * Check the database to see if there are any recently downloaded files or anything else funny-lookin’?
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, that.
  * RITA:
  * Sure thing, boss. Just turn it on, put the comms down on the computer, and go look for wherever else the drive could be.
  * [SOUND: Faint typing, fading but slightly present throughout the conversation]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * While Rita kept going, I searched the room—again. I'd seen nicer apartments in the old abandoned buildings of Oldtown I used to play in; it was barely enough room for a mattress, a single-burner stovetop, and a bathroom. It didn't take much time to check everywhere. Never thought I’d miss corporate snooping, but at least with them what I was looking for was usually in a desk. Not so… personal.
  * JUNO:
  * This isn’t even an apartment, Rita, it’s a closet. And it’s near empty. I’m starting to think our honorable employer’s full of it. Made a bad deal, wanted someone to pin it on, maybe.
  * RITA:
  * (gasp)
  * Not Avery!
  * JUNO:
  * No, Dr. Heart.
  * (sigh)
  * Look, I’ll give the room one last sweep, but I think it’s clean. Any luck with the computer?
  * RITA:
  * Nothing so far, boss.
  * JUNO:
  * You're not in? That usually takes you seconds at most.
  * RITA:
  * Oh, I’m in, just checkin’ files. If this drive is as fancy as they say, and she's any kinda tech-savvy, she might’ve been able to transfer some of the security protocols over. Looks clean, though—she last logged in… two weeks ago?
  * [SOUND: A dull thud]
  * JUNO:
  * Ow!
  * RITA:
  * You okay, boss?
  * JUNO:
  * Just… stubbed my toe.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I don’t know how I’d missed it before; or, really, I did. The bed was unmade, rumpled, with blankets falling off of it. One of them just so happened to cover a tiny metal safe beside the bed. Didn't even look like she'd meant to do it; it was just… out there.
  * JUNO:
  * Hey, Rita? If Juliet had an old safe, analog, what’d you guess her passcode would be?
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, are you kidding me right now?
  * JUNO:
  * Nope.
  * RITA:
  * Boss—
  * JUNO:
  * You know, this isn’t electronic. Bet I could break in without even trying the passcode.
  * RITA:
  * And then she’d know you’d been there because the lock was broken, and then where’d you be?
  * JUNO:
  * With a paycheck, hopefully.
  * RITA:
  * Um… She's pretty sentimental, so... try 27-04-32?
  * JUNO:
  * Sure, guess we’ll give it a go.
  * [SOUND: Through RITA’s dialogue, JUNO's fiddling with the padlock, twisting the knobs, putting in the passcode.]
  * RITA:
  * You know, you’d think people would learn from a thousand years of putting in important dates as passwords, especially if a lot of your information is right out on the ‘net for anyone to find, but they just don’t, do they, especially when they got a big, important date like the day you found out the whole direction of your life was changin’. Speakin’ of which, you need to change your computer passwords too, boss; it’s been what, ten years?
  * JUNO:
  * (half-listening)
  * Mhmm, I'll do it later. What's the "big day" anyways?
  * RITA:
  * The day her brother died.
  * JUNO:
  * She sounds cheerful.
  * RITA:
  * Almost as cheerful as you. Hey, when I’m right—
  * JUNO:
  * _If_ you’re right—
  * RITA:
  * _When_ I’m right, we’re gonna watch the first episode of _Rubortem Lane_ season four together. And you gotta make all the popcorn.
  * JUNO:
  * Can’t we just do 50 creds and call it a day?
  * RITA:
  * Nope. Those are my terms, boss, take ‘em or leave ‘em.
  * [SOUND: Click-click, whir; door swings open]
  * JUNO:
  * Well, whaddaya know.
  * RITA:
  * _Weeeeeeeeeeell_? Was I _riiiiiiiiiight_?
  * JUNO:
  * Yep. And—
  * [SOUND: Fumbling around in a metal safe]
  * We’ve got—something?
  * RITA:
  * Good, 'cause I’m getting nothing on the computer. Looks a decade or two old and barely used. If you don't need me anymore, I’m gonna take the most well-deserved break of my entire week. Put up my feet, get some salmon chips, watch a little more _Saturn Serpentine_ , you know, season two, episode four, where the AI in the ventilation system gains full—
  * JUNO:
  * It’s a holodisk and… what looks like… a watch box?
  * RITA:
  * That’s it?
  * JUNO:
  * That’s it.
  * RITA:
  * Huh. Just when I thought it might be gettin' interesting. You open the box?
  * JUNO:
  * Yep. Empty.
  * [SOUND: Box being shaken]
  * Nothing hidden in it, either.
  * RITA:
  * Well, I guess that’s not too surprising; she’s always wearing her watch. Avery gave it to her when they first got on _Rubortem Lane_ together; she's real fond of it.
  * JUNO:
  * Hm. And the holodisk?
  * RITA:
  * I don’t know what that’s about. Play it!
  * [SOUND: A button being pressed. Raven: “All seeming, all seen!”]
  * JUNO:
  * What’s—that’s what Avery’s dumb bird was saying, wasn’t it.
  * RITA:
  * Yep! I bet it’s some merchandise from the show. Looks like you can buy them on the ‘net for… 16 creds. 
  * (a pause)
  * Wait. Actually… couldja play it one more time?
  * [SOUND: A button being pressed. Raven: “All seeming, all seen!”]
  * RITA:
  * And that’s all?
  * JUNO:
  * That’s it. Just that and… a date on the back, looks like. 35-06-39. That mean anything to you?
  * RITA:
  * Lemme see… You know, boss, this all would go much faster with a second monitor.
  * JUNO:
  * I’ll look into it. The date?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, yeah. Checkin’ a couple of blogs, looks like that’s the date—Dr. Heart proposed to Ms. Avery, ain’t that sweet.
  * JUNO:
  * So why’d Juliet keep it? And why’d she keep it in her safe?
  * RITA:
  * Well, if _my_ best friend got engaged, I’d want something to remember it by.
  * JUNO:
  * Even if it was some cheap junk you could pick up for less than the price of a decent cloned burger?
  * RITA:
  * It wouldn't be the _worst_ present you'd ever gotten me, all I'm sayin'.
  * JUNO:
  * How was I supposed to know you were allergic to tuna dust flavoring? It's still fish flavored!
  * RITA:
  * You're the detective, boss, not me.
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, but if there are no _clues_ to follow— 
  * (a sound of frustration)
  * [SOUND: Munching over comms]
  * RITA:
  * So what are we gonna do now?
  * JUNO:
  * Well, right now, it looks like we’ve got a calendar date, a cheap holodisk, and a watchbox. So, nothing. The apartment wasn’t well protected; if she thought someone might be after her, she sure as hell didn't act like it. And the computer’s clean?
  * RITA:
  * Nothin’ on it.
  * JUNO:
  * (groans)
  * Okay, okay. Let’s just…  
But if it really is just a set-up, if Heart just wanted a fall guy, she’d have planted more evidence or something...
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And that’s when I heard it.
  * [SOUND: Faint footsteps outside the door]
  * The drive wasn't in the apartment or at the TV set, if I believed everything Heart said—which, for the record, I had looked into. Heart seemed clean as a whistle, though, and her information checked out too.
  * The more threads I pulled, the fewer there seemed to be. But by the sound of it, the last real thread I had to pull was right outside the door.
  * [SOUND: A door code being punched in]
  * JUNO:
  * (whispering)
  * Rita, you said we’d have an hour!
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, I dunno, she must’ve—
  * JUNO:
  * (sound of frustration)
  * [SOUND: A beep. JUNO’s ended the call]
  * [SOUND: JUNO swings out the window and lands on something metal]
  * [SOUND: All nearly simultaneous. The door swings open.]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I barely had enough time to swing out the window and onto the fire escape. There was nowhere else to hide. Kinda wished I’d just stayed in the room, though. It… was a long way to the ground. Twenty-three floors.
  * [SOUND: Door closing. Footsteps, frantic, walking back and forth. A few beeps]
  * JULIET:
  * Okay, okay, alarm’s off, now think—think. What’s—okay.
  * [SOUND: Rummaging, opening the metal safe door]
  * Okay, okay. They—took the holo. Okay, fine.
  * Fine.
  * [SOUND: A relieved sigh, flopping down on the mattress. Standing up again, pacing]
  * They can’t be—they’ll be back. Okay. Think. What—what can you do?
  * [SOUND: Comms beeping]
  * Hey, Avery, uh—
  * [SOUND: Call disconnects]
  * No, that’s—oh gods, that’d be terrible. Think! You can do this, you have to.
  * (clearly working herself into a panic and trying to push back from that edge)
  * What’s next?
  * [SOUND: Walking around, checking doors, shuffling through things aimlessly]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I'd expected her to go straight to where the drive was hidden and check, but from what I could hear, she didn't. Wasn’t all that concerned about the holodisk or the fact that the safe was broken into, either.
  * [SOUND: Comms beep again]
  * JULIET:
  * Hey, hey, Avery.
  * No, I’m fine, just—
  * (laughs a little hysterically, trying to keep cool)
  * A little stressed is all.
  * (a pause)
  * Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind. I don’t want to—
  * (a pause)
  * Yeah. I’ll see you then.
  * [SOUND: Comms beep disconnection noise]
  * [SOUND: Footsteps come closer, then to a halt. Right next to Juno]
  * [SOUND: Blaster rifle cocked]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And then I looked up.
  * JUNO:
  * Oh, hey, just enjoying the view. Nice place you got here. Wow, you sure look like you know what you’re doing with that thing. What’s a pretty lady like you doing with a blaster like that?
  * JULIET:
  * None of your business.
  * JUNO:
  * Oh, it's really not, but I’ve got a habit of getting into other people’s business. By the way, you don’t seem too shocked to find a stranger on your—uh, balcony. Balcony? This happen often?
  * JULIET:
  * I don’t know what they told you, but whatever you want, I don’t have it. Now leave before I have to use this on you.
  * JUNO:
  * Who’s “they”?
  * JULIET:
  * You really don’t know how to take a hint, do you?
  * [SOUND: Footsteps outside the door]
  * COP 1:
  * HCPD, open up!
  * [DIRECTION: From here to the cops leaving, JUNO and JULIET’s lines are stage-whispered]
  * (a pause)
  * JULIET:
  * … move over.
  * JUNO:
  * What?
  * JULIET:
  * I said— _move over_!
  * JUNO:
  * But I, uh—
  * [SOUND: Light metallic clang, window sliding closed, bodies shuffling]
  * Oh no. Can I go on, uh, the inside?
  * [SOUND: Loud banging on the door]
  * JULIET:
  * The _inside_? The cops are about to bang down my _door_ , I’ve got a _gun_ on you, and you’re worried about _where you are on the fire escape?_
  * JUNO:
  * Hi there, great to meet you, I'm just… incredibly afraid of heights.
  * JULIET:
  * You have got to be the most incompetent thief—
  * JUNO:
  * Not a thief.
  * [SOUND: The door bursts open.]
  * COP 1:
  * Hands up!
  * (after a pause)
  * Coulda sworn I heard something.
  * COP 2:
  * I didn’t hear anything.
  * COP 1:
  * You got fillin’ in your ears, ‘course you didn’t hear anythin’!
  * COP 2:
  * I think you’re full of it. You just want to drag her in.
  * COP 1:
  * You do too.
  * COP 2:
  * Let’s just look for the—what was it? A disk?
  * COP 1:
  * Nah, the drive thingy. You know, the fancy one? Were you even payin' attention?
  * COP 2:
  * I was more paying attention to the threats of violence if we didn't succeed.
  * COP 1:
  * Oh, that? That's normal, nothin' to worry about, 'cept if we don't find it. They're not too kind to people who make mistakes, 'specially as big as this.
  * COP 2:
  * I was wondering. The good doctor's device was late, and they didn't even cut off a pinky. And then it didn't work properly, and still no _accidents_. Like I'd joined a kindergarten class instead of the—
  * COP 1:
  * Don't go blabbing the name around!  
Geez, you're new at this, ain'tcha. But yeah, boss is usually way more picky than that. She's special, though. Useful.
  * COP 2:
  * Speaking of, is her new device usable yet?
  * COP 1:
  * (fading into JUNO's dialogue)
  * Far as I heard, but then, 'snot like they tell us much. Heard it's supposed to be more subtle, but she'll have her work cut out for 'er fixing that...
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Her blaster pressed against my ribs, I stared at Juliet. The quickest way to an early grave in Hyperion City was to anger a family—and by the sounds of it, she’d gone and pissed off one of the bigger ones, the ones whose _accidents_ don’t even show up in the papers or the police paperwork, that’s how far up the money went. It took a special kind of dumb to piss off those kinds of people. Hell, I should know. I had it in spades.
  * They poked around a little more, and we held perfectly still, barely breathing. After fifteen minutes or so, they found—something, I think. They were excited about it, but Juliet didn’t even blink. They left, and we waited a little more.
  * [SOUND: A window opening, one person crawling through]
  * JULIET:
  * Uh, what do you think you’re doing?
  * JUNO:
  * Getting out of the wind? It’s high out there, in case you didn’t know.
  * JULIET:
  * You broke into my apartment!
  * JUNO:
  * I’d call it more of a closet. We just spent a whole quarter-hour together, side-by-side on a fire escape up just… way too high, not saying a word, hiding from the cops, and—
  * JULIET:
  * And you broke into my apartment!
  * JUNO:
  * I didn’t take whatever you’ve got, and neither did the cops. You’re not nearly scared enough for that. You know people who go against the families get this weird disease? It’s called death.
  * JULIET:
  * Funnily enough, I do. I’m trying to avoid it.
  * JUNO:
  * Looks like you’re not doing a great job.
  * JULIET:
  * Thanks. Now are you going to go, or am I going to shoot you?
  * [SOUND: JUNO leans on the windowsill]
  * JUNO:
  * And risk a noise complaint?
  * JULIET:
  * (laughs)
  * In this neighborhood?
  * JUNO:
  * After your friends in the HCPD just got told that they didn’t bring back the right drive?
  * JULIET:
  * They still wouldn’t—
  * JUNO:
  * You don’t sound too sure of that.
  * [SOUND: He swings in through the window.]
  * Thanks. So what were they looking for?
  * JULIET:
  * None of your business. Now leave.
  * JUNO:
  * ‘Cause I’m just thinking out loud here when I say the good doctor you happen to know and the doctor they were talking about might be related. And whatever _you’ve_ got might be related to all this.
  * JULIET:
  * And _I'm_ still pretty sure it's _none of your business_.
  * JUNO:
  * Never was good at taking a hint, think you'll need to say it a few more—
  * [SOUND: JULIET pushes him towards the door. He starts pushing back.]
  * Listen, lady, I've got a lot of experience being pushed around, and you'll have to do—hey, ow, okay.
  * [SOUND: Pushing sounds: continue until JUNO brings up the family names.]
  * JUNO:
  * I'm going, I'm going. Hey! Quit it.
  * JULIET:
  * I'll stop—when you—leave.
  * JUNO:
  * Look, all I'm after is some information. Whatever you've got on them, is it really worth dying over? Because that’s what’s going to happen. Some things you just don’t come back from, and going against—who is it, anyways? The Kanagawas? The diMaggios? The Silex?
  * [SOUND: A pause. A blaster being powered up/gun cocked sound effect]
  * JULIET:
  * I'll use this if I have to, and damn the noise.
  * JUNO:
  * Fine. But if you told me, I could help. I know some cops—good ones, clean ones.
  * JULIET:
  * (sarcastic)
  * Aren’t they all?
  * JUNO:
  * If you had evidence against one of the families—well, you’d have a better shot with them than here is all I’m saying.
  * JULIET:
  * I’ll take my chances here, thanks.
  * JUNO:
  * Suit yourself.
  * JUNO (NARRATION):
  * And then my eyes strayed to her watch again—the only thing in here that looked like it might be worth anything, silver and shiny and gleaming. She held her blaster like it was a part of her arm, natural as breathing—the way I used to hold mine. Her free hand, though, was all fluttery, like she was nervous. It pulled at the watch on her wrist, fussing with it, rubbing the face absentmindedly, running along the metallic strap.
  * Juliet was newer to this game, so she hadn’t learned Information Protection 101: don’t call attention to the thing you’re hiding.
  * JUNO:
  * So, uh, that watch you got there…
  * JULIET:
  * How come I get the funny feeling you know more about it than me?
  * JUNO:
  * Hey, I didn’t put that stuff up on the ‘net.
  * JULIET:
  * Neither did I.
  * JUNO:
  * Point. But really, your watch: where’d you get it? I’ve been in the market for a new one, cracked my last one against a brick wall a while back when someone was punching my lights out.
  * JULIET:
  * I wonder why. Look, question hour’s over. I’m expecting company in a bit—
  * JUNO:
  * Oh, really? You gonna give them the same hospitality?
  * JULIET:
  * Unlike you, they use the front door. And wait to be invited. And don’t break into my place. And _I know them_.
  * JUNO:
  * (It’s a move. He’s attempting a move.) 
  * You could get to know me.
  * [SOUND: Juno goes for her hand; Juliet pulls away, probably jangling her watch]
  * JULIET:
  * Not only no, but hell no. And don’t think I didn’t notice that.
  * JUNO:
  * Notice what?
  * JULIET:
  * This is me asking nicely. Again.
  * [SOUND: The blaster cocking]
  * Leave.
  * JUNO:
  * You don’t have to do this alone, you know.
  * JULIET:
  * You know, with help like what you're offering? I really think I do.
  * Now.
  * [SOUND: Slow, steady steps marking each word; JULIET is walking JUNO to the door.]
  * Get. Out. Of. My. Apartment.
  * [SOUND: The door swings open, JUNO is pushed out, lands with an “oof!”; door swings closed]
  * JUNO:
  * (sound of frustration)
  * Bye. 
  * JUNO:
  * I watched the building for a while after. She had the drive still, with whatever evidence it had on it. And I was absolutely certain I knew where it was. No way to get it off of her, though, not with her on her guard.  
Not yet, anyways.

* * *

  * ## **SCENE FOUR**

  * [SOUND: Car driving up, tires stopping in the distance]
  * JUNO:
  * (sleepily)
  * Hm? Oh. OH. Damnit, it’s too far away...
  * [SOUND: Comms beeping]
  * JUNO:
  * Rita. Rita, come on, pick up, Ritaaaaa…
  * RITA:
  * (yawning)
  * Mistah Steel, it’s real late.
  * JUNO:
  * I know. Look, if I hold my comms up in camera mode, can you zoom in enough to get a good view?
  * RITA:
  * I know you’re excited about all the new stuff you’re learning, but technology can’t do everything, boss.
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, this is happening _now_. It’s about to be _over_.
  * RITA:
  * Okay, Mr. Steel, put it up, I’ll see what I can do…
  * [SOUND: Comms beeping, fiddling, etc]
  * RITA:
  * ...and … there. That’s the best you’re gonna get.
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, does that look like anyone to you?
  * RITA:
  * Mmmmmm, I dunno, boss. Kinda hard to tell. Avery Lee? Juliet?
  * JUNO:
  * Which one?
  * RITA:
  * They look pretty similar. Not cloning-similar, but they play sisters, so they look a lot alike. Dr. Heart, too, come to think of it.
  * JUNO:
  * So what’s that mean?
  * [SOUND: Far away, barely audible; a fizz-pop! electrical sound]
  * Wait. Did you see that?
  * RITA:
  * See what, boss?
  * JUNO:
  * There was—some kind of—electric spark?
  * [SOUND: Simultaneous comms beeps]
  * RITA:
  * Nothin’ like that. How much sleep didja geT OH MY GOD!
  * (incomprehensible excited squeaking noise, lasts about 10 seconds, ends in)
  * BOSS!
  * JUNO:
  * Ow! Yeah, Rita?
  * RITA:
  * Ohmigod boss, it’s gonna be the biggest thing, and I ain’t got a thing to wear! I bet Frannie would let me borrow something—BOSS!
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, I don’t have the first clue what you’re talking about.
  * RITA:
  * Just— _lookit your comms!_
  * JUNO:
  * I’m looking. It’s, uh. An invitation?
  * RITA:
  * _OF COURSE IT’S AN INVITATION!_ Now you need to get some new clothes for tomorrow— 
  * JUNO: 
  * What’s wrong with my clothes? Rita, I’m on a case!
  * RITA:
  * Yes, Mistah Steel, and if you show up to the season four premiere party of _Rubortem Lane_ lookin' like somethin' the rabbits dragged outta the sewers, you’re gonna be taking it up with HR.
  * JUNO:
  * (a frustrated groan) 
  * Rita, I can’t just drop everything—
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, this is part of your job now. Avery’s payin’ you to be here.
  * JUNO:
  * Well, in that case, Rita, I’m sure she won’t mind if I take a day off tomorrow to just—go shopping.
  * [SOUND: Comms beep]
  * JUNO: 
  * Huh. Guess she won’t.
  * RITA:
  * Told you! Now. Avery said to relax and enjoy the party. Ain’t nothing gonna happen on the case tomorrow night.
  * JUNO:
  * As long as _Avery Lee_ says it…
  * RITA:
  * You keep talkin’ like that, boss, but it’s true. She knows her stuff. I’ve seen it. And it’s at her house, too! They say it’s real haunted, not just for show, but there’s this lil’ boy who wanders the house,
  * [SOUND: Comms beep; RITA's dialogue fades out into JUNO's lines]
  * and you can hear screams too sometimes, and bumps and bangs on the walls, and footsteps where there aren’t any people, and Avery’s said she’s definitely communicated with some of the spirits, and it’ll just be so spooky and excitin’...
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Avery Lee might’ve told Rita we had the night off tomorrow, but my comms said otherwise. “Be on the lookout,” Dr. Heart’s message had said.
  * But for what—for who, I wasn’t sure.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's the link for In Media Res: Juliet.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17702447) Clicking at the link on the bottom of that fic will take you back to the next part of the script, if it's up!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for Saturday, when Scene 5 is out and things are really going to kick off with a bang!


	3. Ep. 1, Scenes 5 and 6

  * ## **SCENE FIVE**

  * [SOUND: Muffled car driving noises. Back of a car.]
  * RITA:
  * Boss, you don’t gotta pick at the shoulders. You look fine.
  * JUNO:
  * I know.
  * RITA:
  * Looks good on you. It’s a nice color.
  * JUNO:
  * _I know._
  * RITA:
  * Can barely tell you’ve got a knife on ya under that skirt.
  * JUNO:
  * Wh—how can you tell— ?
  * [SOUND: Rustling. JUNO makes sure his knife is concealed, as well as something else.]
  * RITA:
  * Oh, look, we’re almost there! You can tell by the trees—see how they’ve got that soft stuff hangin’ offa them, just like those pictures from Earth? I wonder what Juliet’s gonna wear. I wonder what _Avery’s_ gonna wear.
  * JUNO:
  * Haven’t you been following the streams all day? And didn’t you call her? Three times?
  * RITA:
  * Well, it’s parta my job for the case, ain’t it?
  * JUNO:
  * (still our grump under the makeup and pretty dress)
  * Hmph. Guess that’s true.
  * RITA:
  * Anyways, no one knows exactly until they show up, and we’re coming in just a little early to look around.
  * JUNO:
  * We’re not going to find the device in there, Rita, Dr. Heart isn’t the kind of person who just leaves that stuff around and forgets— 
  * RITA:
  * Didn’t say for you, Mistah Steel. This is my one chance to see the whole of House Rubortem, and I’m gonna see every inch of it if it’s the last thing I do. See? Even got a map, with the spookiest parts marked on it and everythin'. 
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, we’re on the job. We’re on the tail of a suspect. We’ve gotta figure out what _this_ is, if it is anything.
  * [SOUND: Raven, “All seeming, all seen!”]
  * RITA:
  * Avery said to take the night off and enjoy the party, Mistah Steel. And I dunno why you brought that thing, it’s nothing special.
  * JUNO:
  * If it wasn’t anything special, then why was it in the—
  * RITA:
  * (interrupting)
  * But I _guess_ if you find something you need hacked into or appointments booked or anything else, you let me know, and I'll get around to it _after the premiere_. But until then— 
  * [SOUND: The car stops]
  * RITA:
  * (excited sounds)
  * _Mistah Steel, we’re here we’re here we’re here lookit the black carpet and the lights and the windows, ohmygod the gabled windows—_
  * JUNO:
  * The black carpet?
  * RITA:
  * _Mistah_ Steel, if you think they’re gonna ruin their entire look for a _red_ carpet—
  * [SOUND: The car door opens]
  * VALET:
  * (clearing throat)
  * Ladies, this way, if you will.
  * RITA:
  * (giggles)
  * Oh, of course.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * He led us up the front walkway, the trees on either side spreading out their spindly branches with their soft, green leaves, blotting out what little we could see of the dome under the cover of night. Inside wasn’t much brighter: a huge dim chandelier hung above a double stairway, the bannisters carved to look like old earth vines entwined with limbs. In the flickering light, it almost looked like they were moving. Then I noticed the rest of the entranceway.
  * JUNO:
  * … hey, Rita?
  * RITA: 
  * (distractedly)
  * Mhmm?
  * JUNO:
  * … what’s that?
  * RITA:
  * What? Oh, that!
  * That’s an electrified hanging coffin from the 24th century! Real neat, huh?
  * JUNO:
  * ...what’s it doing here?
  * RITA:
  * Dunno. Ooooh, you think it’s for the new season? Maybe they’re gonna have one of these in it!
  * JUNO:
  * If it is, I'm not watching it.
  * [SOUND: BIG double doors open]
  * AVERY:
  * Juliet, dear, where have you—oh. Oh, hello, darlings!
  * MORAI:
  * CAW!
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, yes, hello from you, too, dear.
  * [SOUND: Heels walking down a flight of stairs, wings flapping]
  * JUNO:
  * Hey, okay, do you mind?
  * MORAI:
  * (softly)
  * Caw.
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, she does like you, doesn't she, detective? She doesn't normally warm up to people so quickly.
  * JUNO:
  * Guess I'm just lucky like that.
  * RITA:
  * Lucky she's fixing your hair for you, more like.
  * JUNO:
  * Oh—hey, quit it!
  * [SOUND: Wings flapping]
  * MORAI:
  * (affronted)
  * CAW! Quit it!
  * RITA:
  * It looks better now.
  * (turning to AVERY as JUNO tries to fix his hair)
  * So Miss Avery, where's the party getting started?
  * AVERY:
  * I must say, I wasn’t expecting anyone so soon, but everyone will be gathering in the main ballroom, right up—
  * RITA:
  * (interrupting, in a lowered voice)
  * No, I mean—the _real party_. You know, the one with the ghosts and stuff?
  * AVERY:
  * Oh!
  * (laughs)
  * Well, if they're feeling friendly, I'm sure you'll see a few around, but you can't really plan for these things, you know?
  * RITA:
  * Oh, _absolutely_.
  * (quietly (for RITA), to herself as she unsubtly side-steps away from the conversation)
  * Guess I'm gonna have to go hunt 'em down myself, then. Heeeeere, ghosty ghosty...
  * JUNO:
  * Uh. So, is Dr. Heart around? I’d like to talk with her about— 
  * AVERY:
  * The case, yes. I’m so sorry, but she’s been called away; family business, apparently.
  * JUNO:
  * On the night of the premiere?
  * AVERY: 
  * I know; it was rather unexpected. She’s… 
  * (sighs)
  * Her presence shall be sorely missed. But the show must go on!
  * JUNO:
  * I... suppose. Hey, speaking of, this thing— 
  * [SOUND: A hand thumping a big, metal thing—a dull clang]
  * It’s not going to be… used tonight, right?
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, no, that’s just for show! Fascinating, though, isn’t it? All the ways we’ve learned to deal with death and deal it out through the millennia. 
  * [SOUND: The absolute spookiest doorbell noise ever. A scream? A long, drawn-out hiss? Nightmare doorbell]
  * Ah, more guests! I must go welcome them, but please—enjoy the party. We do appreciate all that you’re doing, detective.
  * JUNO:
  * (How does one deal with sincere gratitude? Someone please help this detective.)
  * It’s just my job.
  * AVERY:
  * It’s just—I know my Heart will feel so much more like herself when this whole business is finished. It weighs on her so. And— 
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah?
  * AVERY: 
  * (obviously leaning closer, muted)
  * If you could—do you know Juliet?
  * JUNO:
  * (shifting uncomfortably)
  * Rita's told me about her.
  * AVERY:
  * I know this isn’t really part of your job, but—
  * MORAI:
  * All seeing, all seemed!
  * AVERY:
  * Shh, darling, it’s fine.
  * RITA:
  * (loudly, from a short distance)
  * Hi, hello, how are you doing? You’re looking stunning today, Mx. Samselweis! And Ms. Truedline, that color on you is amazing!
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, well. Rita is simply the friendliest, isn’t she? So knowledgeable, too. What a darling. She’s…
  * RITA:
  * Let’s just put our coats in the cloak room, and then we’ll start with the front foyer and the bannister—oak wood all the way from earth, with some really wild carving! You know, this staircase was used as a prop in season two, episode twelve, the one where all the souls of the zombies were trapped inside it. And just wait’ll you see the stained-glass windows in the main ballroom! You know, they say you can hear footsteps dancing in time to music you can't hear when no one's in there...
  * [SOUND: Footsteps and dialogue fading out into JUNO's line]
  * JUNO:
  * She’s starting a tour. Rita, hey, Rita— 
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, it’s just fine. I think she’d give a better introduction to the place than I would anyways—she knows so much about it.
  * [SOUND: The nightmare doorbell again]
  * But I’d better get that. Do enjoy the party—and please. I know I told Rita not to worry about the case, but just be on the lookout.
  * (farther away, in full Performance Mode)
  * Darlings, dreadful and mysterious! How delightful that you could make it!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * “Be on the lookout,” she’d said. Dr. Heart had used the same words last night. Coincidences don’t happen often in my line of work, but I was hoping this one was just that. Avery seemed nice—like she really cared about. Things. The fact that she seemed to really like Rita, too—wasn't nothing.
  * 'Course, if people seem nice, that just means you’ve gotta watch them that much harder.
  * ## **SCENE SIX**

  * [SOUND: A gradual fade-in of graceful party sounds: faintly sinister-sounding violins, people talking, glasses clinking, etc.]
  * RITA: 
  * (muffled)
  * Hey, boss!
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, Rita, what—how many sausage snacks do you have on that plate?
  * RITA:
  * Well, they’re not just for me. Here, have some.
  * JUNO:
  * Thanks. 
  * [SOUND: Muffled: chewing]
  * Hey, you seen Juliet around?
  * RITA:
  * Huh? No, and you know, I was wond’ring about that.
  * [SOUND: A swallow]
  * JUNO:
  * Me too. Do you have her comms number? Checked the blogs?
  * RITA:
  * Sure did, just this morning; she was supposed to be here a little early to help Avery set up, calm her nerves. Miss Avery might not look like it, but she gets real nervous at these things. And then we were here instead! Isn't that nice.
  * JUNO:
  * She doesn’t look like it.
  * RITA:
  * She’s an actress, Mistah Steel. Didja notice that big bracelet with the purple-an'-white stones on it?
  * JUNO:
  * Come to think of it, yeah, I did.
  * RITA:
  * Talismans, to protect from anxiety and any _unwelcome visitors._ Dr. Heart gave it to 'er, and she did some sorta ritual or somethin' to it.
  * JUNO:
  * And where is Dr. Heart anyways? She hires us, makes sure we’re around, and all of a sudden, she’s got better things to do?
  * RITA:
  * Dunno, boss. More sausage snacks?
  * JUNO:
  * (sighs)
  * Sure.
  * RITA:
  * Oooh, hey, I almost forgot!
  * [SOUND: She draws something out of her pocket; hell yeah her outfit’s got pockets. She’s Rita! She needs many pockets in which to store all her Rita things. There's probably a jangle or a metallic clink!]
  * JUNO:
  * I have my own jewelry, Rita. You don’t need to— 
  * RITA:
  * No, no, no, Mistah Steel. You know how I was doing the tours and everything? Well, 
  * (her voice drops)
  * I found this when we were doing a backstage tour of the kitchens with Jae-ho Kim and the Martinez’s, back where there's supposed to be real spooky stuff going on with the pans banging sometimes, before we were “asked politely” to leave, which really means-
  * JUNO:
  * You found an ear cuff and… kept it? This probably belongs to someone, Rita— 
  * RITA:
  * Of course, boss, that’s what I thought at first, so then I put it in my pocket to give to Avery later, since she’d want to know about that, you know, but then it bumped against my comms, and they started going a little funky—not a lot, you know, nothing that anyone would notice unless they were looking real hard, just a little _boop!_ but I was lookin’, and it’s weird, right? So I ran a scan just in case because I know we’re not on the job tonight, but you said Dr. Heart was looking for the doohickey and I was thinking, wouldn’t it be something if she just dropped it and it was in her house the whole time, real easy job, and we could definitely use more of—
  * JUNO:
  * What about the scan? Did it turn up anything?
  * RITA:
  * Oh! Oh, yeah, so it took a real long time, like two minutes, maybe, but it showed a face! And I didn't know the face. But then! I looked again, and it definitely showed something hinky going on, like little points of light runnin' _underneath_ the face! Like a mask! Or a real painful insect infestation, like the bugs on that one stream that burrowed under the people's skin and just wriggled around, all neon and oogly-boogly. And then I stopped watching 'cause it was real gross and my tummy wasn't feelin' so hot, on account'a—
  * JUNO:
  * Okay, but this thing—what happened?
  * RITA:
  * I was just getting to that! So I ran a couple more scans, and they’re taking even longer, but with it right here, it should be done about—
  * [SOUND: Comms beep]
  * RITA:
  * Now!
  * Well, that’s a neat little piece of technology. Look like anyone you know, boss?
  * JUNO:
  * … no. But—it looks like—what does that look like to you?
  * RITA:
  * Well, I’m no expert, boss, but that looks like a face.
  * JUNO:
  * I know that. Do you recognize it?
  * RITA:
  * No. Doesn't look like a nice face, though.
  * JUNO:
  * We're surrounded by entertainment people, Rita. None of them are nice faces.
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, but they _look_ nice, and this one doesn't.
  * Look, is this the thing Dr. Heart was looking for? 'Cause if not, I should probably give it to Avery, ‘cause with something this advanced, people are definitely gonna be looking for it if it’s missing.
  * JUNO:
  * It… might be?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * It wasn’t the TCB400, but it did exactly what Dr. Heart said it was supposed to do: but smaller, more discreet. Easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it.
  * RITA:
  * Well, I’ll keep it anyways. Just in case it is Dr. Heart's, 'cause then _wouldn't it be funny_ if it was the _same thing she was lookin' for and she'd just dropped it this whole time, huh?_
  * [SOUND: Comms beeping, a bit of typing]
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah. Funny. Not a bad idea, though, Rita.
  * (looking around, munching)
  * Hey, _Rubortem Lane_ ’s supposed to be… spooky, right?
  * RITA:
  * (half-listening)
  * Mhmm, it’s real spooky.
  * JUNO:
  * So where’s all the spooks?
  * CECIL:
  * Oh, Junebug, you speak too soon! Don’t you know, you’ve got to wait for just the right moment in these things for the _tension to build_!
  * JUNO:
  * Ah!
  * (coughs, clears his throat of sausage snacks)
  * Cecil.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Kanagawa, we heard you’d be here!
  * JUNO:
  * (still a little raspy)
  * We did?
  * RITA:
  * Well, _I_ did. Anyways, we _didn't_ hear you'd be lookin' so sharp!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * He did look sharp. Happy, too, which made me more than a little nervous. He’d come up from out of nowhere, grinning like the mega-watt lightbulbs and camera crews were just for him—which, actually, they might've been.
  * It’s always better to know when the Kanagawas are going to be involved, so you can know which way the hits are coming from. Cecil wasn’t the worst of the bunch, but he sure as hell wasn’t the best, either. His shiny new arm was sure to be full of surprises, and as for the man himself...
  * CECIL:
  * Juno, do remember to breathe—really, I’m not nearly the scariest thing around this place! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
  * RITA:
  * And just what is the scariest thing around, Mr. Kanagawa?
  * CECIL:
  * (vaguely, smugly; he knows something and he’s not going to share it)
  * Oh, I’d say the secrets haunting every corner, wouldn’t you? House Rubortem: they say it's _haunted_ , you know.
  * Or that wonderful coffin cage in the hallway; bought it for a new show, but Avery asked to borrow it, and I just had to show it off.
  * JUNO:
  * How do you know Avery anyways? Business friends?
  * CECIL:
  * Mmmm, something like that. Now, Junebug, tell me: do you enjoy a good show?
  * JUNO:
  * Depends on what’s playing.
  * CECIL:
  * Oh, I think you’ll like this one. And we’ve got such a good view!
  * [SOUND: A hiss-fizz, like the sound near the end of scene two but louder and longer; a fade-out]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * A good view was… one way to put it.
  * [SOUND: Lights shut off? A switch sound, a power-down sound?]
  * RITA and JUNO, along with CROWD:
  * (gasp)
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The lights shut off, but we could still see. They lit up the room—literally, little flames of light in the darkness, flickering and gleaming like candles on a birthday cake. Spreading out from the middle of the dance floor, rippling like sand dunes in a storm, were… people. All different kinds of people looking like they’d just walked off the set of _Rubortem Lane_ , matching the drapes and the furniture and the doom and gloom in every corner. Laughing, talking, dancing, eating—everything the party-goers were already doing, these new guests filled it up with twice over.
  * When you looked closer, you could see places where fiction met reality—a hand stuck through a serving tray, a skirt floating just a little too high passing through a man’s leg as a holo-couple danced through the crowd.
  * And then—as suddenly as they’d appeared, they were gone.
  * [SOUND: lights-coming-on sound]
  * [SOUND: nervous laughter, clapping]
  * CECIL:
  * (smug)
  * Yes, it’s really something, isn’t it? Avery’s so clever with these ideas—thought up the whole thing herself!
  * I do like to stick to reality television; the reactions are so satisfying. But when you’ve got a script, why, you can really do _anything_ , can’t you!
  * (laughing)
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel…
  * JUNO:
  * (warily)
  * Yeah, Rita?
  * RITA: 
  * That was every single character who’s ever been on _Rubortem Lane_!
  * CECIL:
  * Oh, very close, Rita, but you’re wrong—
  * RITA:
  * Except for two: Juliet and Avery.
  * (to Cecil)
  * Savin' them for the big finale?
  * CECIL:
  * You simply must let a man have some secrets, Rita! My, my, you do have an eye for detail. By the way, Cecil Kanagawa of Kanagawa Productions, head producer of _Faces, Places, and Maces_ , yes, _that_ Cecil Kanagawa.
  * RITA:
  * (curtly, remembering Juno’s previous birthday fiasco)
  * Nice to meet you.
  * CECIL:
  * Well, now that this particular cat’s out of the bag, I guess you both can know that we may be seeing our new “friends” around a bit more tonight. But I really must be going: things to do, people to see.
  * JUNO:
  * Hey, Cecil, just real quick: you seen Juliet around anywhere?
  * CECIL:
  * My, my, a fan? An admirer? Has our Juno Steel finally found... _love_?
  * JUNO:
  * ...let's say we've got business together.
  * RITA:
  * I'M A FAN!
  * CECIL:
  * So mysterious tonight, Junebug. But I suppose that is part of your charm. Don't worry your head too much about it; just keep your eyes peeled. She's _bound_ to turn up sooner or later. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
  * [SOUND: Footsteps (heels?) away]
  * RITA: 
  * You know, boss, he’d fit right in as a character for _Rubortem Lane_. Especially the episode where the warlock producer tries to rip out souls on live television because of the ratings an' also because the evil spirits in his head are tellin’ ‘im to do it, too.
  * JUNO:
  * You know, you may not wrong about that one. Sounds right up his alley.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Cecil wasn’t kidding about the holos. Every so often,
  * [SOUND: Fizz-pop!]
  * another would appear out of thin air, spouting a line so corny it sounded like Rita'd had a hand in writing it, twirling in place, or with a holo-drumstick in its hand. Caused a commotion every time, too. No one wanted to touch them or even get too near. It was unsettling in the light, how little you could tell they weren’t real. Raised the hair on the back of my head every time I saw a foot pass through a table leg. Didn’t always fade, either, when they were dispersed: some exploded in a shower of sparks, others crashed to the floor, sending little sparks and flares all over.
  * [SOUND: Whatever that last thing would sound like. Musical, almost? Musical, sharp, tinkly rain? Disgruntled crowd noises.]
  * And then out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. Could tell it was her, really her, because she wasn’t in costume like the rest of them. Just a simple black dress, standing alone. Staring out at the crowd.
  * JUNO:
  * (calling)
  * Juliet!  
Ms. Lavender!  
Juliet!  
Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but…
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I reached out to grab her shoulder, and...
  * [SOUND: Same musical light-breaking sound as before]
  * JUNO:
  * She vanished. As my hand passed through, I felt a little bolt of electricity raise the hair on my neck, like lightning looking for a place to strike. I looked around. Nothing.
  * RITA:
  * (a little spooked)
  * Don’t worry, boss. I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. I’ll ask around.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * But she wasn’t. Everywhere I went, everyone I talked to, it was the same answer. I wasn’t the only one looking, either.
  * AVERY:
  * Oh, detective, do you have a moment?
  * JUNO:
  * Sure. Everything alright?
  * AVERY:
  * Fine, but...
  * JUNO:
  * Except for your fiancee and best friend disappearing on the night of this big party.
  * AVERY:
  * Yes. You haven’t heard anything from Dr. Heart?
  * JUNO:
  * Nothing. Is she usually this quiet?
  * AVERY:
  * Not on nights like this. She knows I get… 
  * Does anything seem _off_ to you, detective?
  * JUNO:
  * Way I heard it, the entire party’s supposed to feel _off_ to people. I mean, look at that.
  * [SOUND: That same musical light-breaking sound]
  * AVERY:
  * No, no, that’s all part of the plan, but there’s… a feeling, I suppose. Something's not right. Can you sense it?
  * JUNO:
  * People popping up out of nowhere and leaving just as sudden will do that to a place, but sure, it’s possible. Did you try calling Juliet’s mom to see if she's there?
  * AVERY:
  * She’s the first person I tried, but the poor thing said she hadn’t heard anything in about a day.
  * JUNO:
  * When did you last hear from her?
  * AVERY:
  * The same—nearly a day ago. She asked me to come over, and I was going to, of course, but putting party finishes on and such, planning all of this, getting everything ready—
  * JUNO:
  * (remembering last night)
  * But you went over.
  * AVERY:
  * What? No, I couldn’t, planning for the premiere and all. But she sounded so worried, I couldn’t just leave her there alone, so I sent my Heart over. And now...
  * JUNO:
  * Wait, you sent Heart over? Alone?
  * AVERY: 
  * Well, yes, it sounded like she just needed someone to keep the bumps and the thumps of the night away. My Heart’s done it before.
  * JUNO:
  * And you haven’t heard from Heart since— 
  * CECIL:
  * Attention, attention! Ladies, gentlemen, and gentlethems! Yes, yes, it’s me: Cecil Kanagawa, host of _Places, Faces, and Maces_ , _From the Jaws of Death_ , and _Terror Time_ , all exclusively from Kanagawa Productions. And I’m such a fan of this little show! Now, as you know,
  * (CECIL's dialogue fades out into JUNO's dialogue)
  * _Rubortem Lane_ has been an inspiration to my newest show, _Haunts and Horrors_ , and I’m just delighted to know… 
  * JUNO:
  * Avery, has anyone gone over to on Juliet’s apartment today?
  * AVERY:
  * Not that I know of.
  * JUNO:
  * Sorry, Avery, I’ve got to go check on something real quick. Rita! Hey, Rita, we gotta— 
  * CECIL:
  * (gradually fading back in over JUNO's line)
  * … and I propose a toast! Everyone, to the newest season of _Rubortem Lane_ ; may it fly beyond our wildest expectations and prove to be—well, what— 
  * [SOUND: Lights shutting off sound]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The lights flickered, then turned off. And the clock struck— 
  * [SOUND: A VERY loud clock chime (1)]
  * And there they were, twenty of them, all at once, bathing the whole room in an eerie dim blue light — life-size holograms of Avery Lee, dressed in the same costume. All silent. All in the same pose, standing in a circle around the center of the floor. 
  * Another chime— 
  * [SOUND: Same clock chime (2)]
  * —and two disappeared. The rest shifted around, tightened the circle. Didn’t move otherwise; same pose, same blue light. Same face.
  * [SOUND: Same clock chime (3)]
  * —and then—
  * [SOUND: Same clock chime (4)]
  * —one turned to look at Avery.
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (5)]
  * AVERY:
  * H- hello?
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (6)]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * She didn’t say a word. Just watched her. The others moved, shifted their positions, turned to look up at the ceiling.
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (7)]
  * Fewer and fewer, disappearing by two, every time. The room grew dimmer and dimmer, little candles being snuffed out. The one watching Avery—the real Avery—reached out to her.
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (8)]
  * Then, the rest looked up. Stretched their arms out wide.
  * The one looking at Avery...
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (9)]
  * AVERY (HOLO):
  * Help… Please…
  * AVERY:
  * Who _are_ you?
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (10)]
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (11)]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The one reaching out to Avery vanished. The room was black, cold. Silent. You could feel the walls pressing in around you, and the other people in the dark seemed... so far away. The room held its breath, waiting, trapped in that one second.
  * [SOUND: Clock chime (12)]
  * AVERY (HOLO):
  * (high-pitched scream, through JUNO's narration until the SOUND)
  * [SOUND: Gasps]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR)
  * She fell, like a meteor, a blue-white beam streaking down from the ceiling, her arms still desperately reaching up to grab onto thin air, skirt trailing behind her like a tail, lighting up the whole room all in one horrific flare of light. Her fall... it was sudden, endless, and yet, inevitable. Her face: spun out of blue-white threads of light, same as the rest of her, panicked, wide-eyed—but for a second, just a second, I thought I saw something darker underneath. 
  * [SOUND: A _slam_ , and that same musical beam-break-y sound as before] She hit the floor and shattered into a million separate beams of light over the dance floor.
  * But when I looked back, where there should've been nothing, just like all the other holos—a body lay still.
  * MORAI:
  * All seeing, all seemed!
  * CROWD:
  * (in a growing murmur, spreading to panic)
  * Dr. Heart!—It’s Dr. Heart!—What?—
  * (screams, etc., add more if needed)
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Avery Lee stood in the middle of an empty circle, her hand reaching out, quivering, face pale as ashes, staring at the floor. And on that floor lay the body of Dr. Heart, broken and dead.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the next episode will be up on February 19! In the meantime, here's [_In Media Res: Dr. Heart_.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721290)


	4. Ep. 2, Scene 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, man, we're getting spooky now!  
> Many thanks to [Jasper, who drew the art for this scene!](https://captaincravatthecapricious.tumblr.com/)

# Episode 2

### Characters

  * **Juno Steel:**  
Our increasingly agitated detective. Thought he was just on the trail of a missing item, but several pieces of information dropped along the way and, oh, _the body that was dropped right in front of him_ beg to differ.
  * **Rita ----:**  
_Oh, wow,_ this is just like that episode in _Leviathan Lies_ where the couple is real happy and in love and all but then BAM! In the middle of the party the nice doctor falls down dead and her wife’s gotta figure out what happened ‘fore the whole party… gets… got… _Mistah Steel?!??_
  * **Avery Lee:**  
Dr. Heart’s distraught ex-fiancée
  * **Dr. Heart:**  
Avery's ex-fiancée, now dead
  * **Juliet Lavender:**  
Avery's best friend. MIA. _Huh._
  * **Diamond:**  
What is a memory but a ghost that's not done haunting you yet?

* * *

  * ## **OPENING SCENE:**

  * [SOUND: Nothing. Stillness.]
  * CONDUCTOR:
  * Good evening, Traveler. And welcome—to the Penumbra.
  * [SOUND: Tracks, chugging along, typical trolley noises fading in. _That Song_ plays softly in the background.]
  * Take your seat, please, take your seat. The junction lies just ahead, so if you’ll allow me a moment…
  * [SOUND: Wheels screech, then resume the same steady pace.]
  * A rare “night off” has turned into rather a bit more for Juno Steel. Faced with a dead body dropped into the middle of the party, a killer on the loose, a missing item still missing, and a house with more dark twists and turns than a secretary’s story, Juno Steel’s got his work cut out for him.
  * Our next stop...
  * [SOUND: Brakes squeal, halt.]
  * _Juno Steel and the House of Secrets._

* * *

  * ## **SCENE 1:**

  * [SETTING: AVERY's ballroom. AVERY's there, DR. HEART is there… in a way. JUNO's almost next to AVERY. RITA's not far away. They’re all looking at DR. HEART, who is… ]
  * [SOUND: crowd gasps, awe, shock. Picks up basically where we left off last time]
  * AVERY:
  * I— I…
  * CROWD PERSON 1:
  * Oh my god!
  * CROWD PERSON 2:
  * Dr. Heart! She’s… she's...
  * JUNO:
  * People shy away from the truth sometimes, when it’s messy and ugly, even when it’s right in front of them. It’s an easy trap to fall into—if you don’t name the thing, if only look at it out of the corner of your eye, it’s not real, so it can’t hurt you. It’s just… dressing up. Wearing a different face.
  * [SOUND: JUNO's theme]
  * The word they were looking for was dead, but they didn’t want to say it. She was blasted clean through with some sort of sigil marked on her chest in what looked like blood, which meant that my current case had taken a turn for the graveyard.
  * I’m Juno Steel, kind of sick of horror shows, but they've got a nasty habit of popping up just when I need them least. That body over there? Is my former employer. And whoever killed her may still be here because typically bodies don’t just drop out of ceilings without help. Which means I don’t have much time before things might get bad.
  * Real bad.
  * JUNO:
  * Rita!
  * (pause)
  * Rita!
  * RITA:
  * Oh, it’s… it’s horrible… Dr. Heart was just alive a few—
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, I know. Just—stay here, okay?
  * RITA:
  * (shaken)
  * You got it, boss.
  * JUNO (NARRATION):
  * It was definitely a real body; no doll could recreate the way a corpse reacted to rigor mortis, at least not a cheap one. I don’t like blood, but this was… a little more manageable than usual. It looked like the blaster wound had been cleaned, and the painted-on stuff was already flaky. She had to be hours dead at least. And the sign...
  * JUNO:
  * What… is this?
  * [SOUND: AVERY gets out her bracelet talisman.]
  * AVERY:
  * It’s… it’s the match to my talisman. It’s exact, down to the last stroke. My Heart, my Heart… Who did this?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I looked closer at the body. On her ear, something was gleaming. Looked almost like...
  * [SOUND: A door closing. Then another.]
  * AUTHORITY PERSON 1:
  * Remain calm. Everything is under control.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I looked up just in time to see movement.
  * [SOUND: A trapdoor swinging closed; should be literally barely audible]
  * JUNO:
  * (under his breath)
  * Shit.
  * (louder)
  * Hey, Rita, you still got that blueprint of the house?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah,
  * [SOUND: Comms click]
  * Right here, Mistah Steel.
  * JUNO:
  * Anything above the ballroom?
  * RITA:
  * Three floors up, should be a teensy-tiny attic up there. I don’t know…
  * JUNO:
  * (starts right after “up there”)
  * Good, great, yep, we're back on the job tonight, check out the body, gonna go catch a murderer, bye!
  * RITA:
  * (yelling after him)
  * … how to get up there yet, though, Mistah—Mistah STEEL! MISTAH—
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The goons at the doors were big and scary, so I didn’t take the doors.
  * JUNO:
  * Aw, this is gonna hurt…
  * [SOUND: Running up, window crash]
  * Sorry!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I ran...
  * [SOUND: Huffing and puffing, footsteps in carpeted hallways, on wooden stairs]
  * Up some stairs…  
...and some more stairs…
  * [SOUND: More huffing and puffing]
  * JUNO:
  * You know… they could’ve… gone… for fewer... rickety… staircases… a _handrail_ or something…
  * [SOUND: Another set of footsteps, just slightly off-beat to JUNO's; JUNO stops, and so do they, a second too late]
  * JUNO:
  * H-hello?  
Someone there?
  * [SOUND: JUNO's blaster getting ready to do its blasty thing]
  * JUNO:
  * (still a little out of breath, our non-cardio-loving lady)
  * Look, if you’re gonna jump out and yell “boo,” now would be a great time to do it. I’m ready for it and everything.
  * (a pause)
  * [SOUND: Chilling laughter, up ahead]
  * Hello?
  * [SOUND: A door slams, up ahead.]
  * JUNO:
  * … okay, then.
  * [SOUND: Just one set of footsteps this time, climbing stairs, walking on carpet, etc. Continues through narration up to JUNO’s line]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I kept my eye open, but the shadows moved with a mind of their own in the flickering lights. Out of the corner of my eye, I kept… seeing things. Flashes, images, barely there. Maybe just part of the house's creepy decor, but I couldn’t be sure.
  * JUNO:
  * (huffing, puffing)
  * Alright, where are you?  
There’s no more stairs, no more doors—
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And then I saw it at the end of the last hallway: a tiny sliver of light on the ceiling, outlining a pull-down staircase. 
  * [SOUND: Grunts: staircase being unfolded, climbing up]
  * I pulled it open, climbed up, and—
  * JUNO:
  * (cautiously)
  * Anyone here?
  * [SOUND: The staircase springs up, and the attached door slams closed.]
  * OLD MAN:
  * Hello, Juno Steel.
  * JUNO:
  * (surprised noise)
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * He appeared out of nowhere, in a raggedy old chair that looked almost as ancient as him. Blue-purple veins crossed every inch of him, and his skin sagged down like it'd been fighting a losing battle with gravity for decades. His eyes, though—small, watery, but crystal-blue and piercing, somehow—and fixed on me. Like he’d been waiting.
  * JUNO:
  * Wh—who are you?
  * OLD MAN:
  * Oh, no one of importance.
  * [SOUND: The chair shifts as he gets more comfortable.]
  * But you—now that’s a different question, isn’t it.
  * (He chuckles; it’s a bit reminiscent of the Chilling Laughter sound effect used earlier.)
  * JUNO:
  * You know, I’m just gonna ask—what are you still doing here? You could’ve gotten away by now, if you wanted.
  * [SOUND: A jangle. JUNO's preparing his handcuffs.]
  * OLD MAN:
  * I am right where I am needed, Juno Steel. They have been patient a long time.
  * JUNO:
  * Who're they?
  * OLD MAN:
  * I have a message for you. From an old friend.
  * JUNO:
  * If they’ve got anything to do with the murder that just happened, I’m going to say no, thanks.
  * OLD MAN:
  * Follow the threads 'til you reach the end.
  * JUNO:
  * ...that’s it? Murder’s a lot of work to do for one dumb sentence.
  * OLD MAN:
  * On this, they may disagree.  
If I can give you some advice—
  * JUNO:
  * You know what, sure. Why not take the advice of the _creepy old guy in the murder attic_.
  * OLD MAN:
  * Tread lightly, Juno Steel. Spiders weave their webs carefully, carefully, and wait for the vibrations to come.
  * JUNO:
  * Great. Fine. Thanks. Now, if you could just stand up—
  * [SOUND: A growing growling, howling noise—like the rumble and scream of a tornado, but more focused]
  * JUNO:
  * (a scream/yell of fright)
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * His face… changed. Elongated, all that sagging skin pulled taut over bones fragile as twigs. He glowed, blue-white, and his eyes… I couldn’t look away. His fingers, cold, thin, spindly things, scratched at me, pulling me in, and his mouth opened wide, wider than it should’ve been able to. For a second, I thought, wide enough to swallow me whole.
  * OLD MAN:
  * (in a blend of his voice and this new, tornado-y sound)
  * Tread lightly, Juno Steel. They are watching; they are waiting.
  * [SOUND: It reaches a crescendo of volume at “waiting”, then ceases abruptly. The only sound is JUNO’s heavy breathing for about five seconds.]
  * JUNO:
  * Wh-
  * [SOUND: Our favorite—that musical little fizz-pop! sound that means hey, a holo's appeared!]
  * JULIET:
  * Glad you could make it, Juno. Sorry it had to be this way, but—
  * (She shrugs. Casual.)
  * JUNO:
  * Do they just have these set up everywhere? You got any creepy advice for me too?
  * JULIET:
  * Sure. Don’t look into this.
  * JUNO:
  * I’d love to, but there’s still a killer on the loose, and that trapdoor doesn’t look like it’s on a time-release or anything, so…
  * JULIET:
  * It’s not what you think.
  * JUNO:
  * Are you going to haunt my nightmares if I try to get you to go away?
  * JULIET:
  * I get the feeling your nightmares are pretty crowded already.
  * JUNO:
  * Fair. Look, I've gotta go, a murderer—probably you—to catch, so...
  * [SOUND: That musical light-breaking thing; then a fizz-pop! Another holo pops up in the same place.]
  * JUNO:
  * Goddamnit.
  * CECIL:
  * Oh, you didn’t think it would be that easy, did you, Junebug?
  * JUNO:
  * As a matter of fact, I didn’t. Hey, you know what’s great about you being a hologram?
  * CECIL:
  * You can take me anywhere, keep me in your pocket. Any time you could ever want me: Cecil Kanagawa, intergalactic star!
  * JUNO:
  * Nope.
  * [SOUND: JUNO waves a hand through the holo. Same musical light-breaking sound]
  * This one goes away when you say please.
  * [SOUND: Another fizz-pop]
  * DR. HEART:
  * Detective, I was expecting better work, even from you. Have you found the drive yet?
  * JUNO:
  * (ouch)
  * No, but if you’d let me do my job—
  * [SOUND: Another light-breaking sound]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * No matter how many times the holograms broke, they just kept popping back up, a different face every time. When I ignored it, started poking around the room, it switched around by itself, like it was trying to find the right face to distract me, to catch me off-guard and keep me trapped in that moment. Faster and faster and faster, flicking through a hundred faces, a hundred voices: a crowd all alone in this dusty, cramped attic with the chill the old man brought with him still in the air.
  * There wasn’t much in the room: bookshelves, old, dusty; a few older portraits of Avery and other people; a blanket in the corner; a few boxes, unopened. A bit of blood drying on the floor. And then I looked behind the holograms: a yawning black mouth, a dark hallway into which only a bit of shimmering light spilled into. I stepped forward.
  * [SOUND: Interspersed and in the background of JUNO's narration: JULIET, RITA, DR. HEART, AVERY, the cops from Episode One, random people (assumed to be from The Family), all saying “Juno,” or random lines like, help! or please! Interposed are the fizz-pops and light-breaking noises we’ve come to associate with the holos popping up and breaking. It kind of blurs together into the background after a while—except for one, who’s a little louder, a little more distinct than the others.]
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno.
  * JUNO:
  * Wh—what did you say?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The faces blurred again, kept moving on, grotesque, almost, the way one blended into another.
  * [SOUND: JULIET, DR. HEART, RITA saying Juno and/or random lines like help! or please! etc.]
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno.
  * JUNO:
  * You.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And—I was caught. I’d spent years with that face, that voice, buried so deep it didn't even twinge to mention it sometimes. Then days ignoring it from the last time it'd been unceremoniously dumped out of its grave, back to haunt me again.
  * I knew it was a hologram, but… there they were, like they’d stepped right out of last night’s nightmares and into this dingy old attic, like they had every right to be here. Every long, lean inch of them, hair perfectly in place, same intense stare, like it could burn holes into you and you wouldn’t even notice the pain 'til you hit the floor.
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno? Juno, I— 
  * JUNO:
  * You— no.  
What—  
You can’t be here.
  * (a second, steadying himself)
  * You’re a hologram. I know you are.
  * DIAMOND:
  * Am I?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I had seen Juliet fade, had seen their face quick-spun out of light and air, like magic. That didn’t stop me from hoping, from having the knife dig down just a little deeper, opening old wounds I’d thought had scarred over.
  * One touch, and it would shatter or fade, just like all the other ones. I couldn’t make myself do it. Couldn’t lift my hand. Just stood there, everything in me screaming to—get it over with.
  * I had a job to do.
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno, I can’t—Juno.
  * JUNO:
  * Please.
  * (a breath, then another, kind of wet. He’s closed his eyes)
  * There’s a murderer, and I don’t know if she’s gonna kill again, but she’s getting away, you gotta stop—looking like them, sounding like them—Rita’s down there, I can’t let anything happen to her. Just—
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno. Look at me. Juno, please.
  * JUNO:
  * (pained)
  * Don’t _say that._
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Time dripped slow around me, like honey, like mud; it couldn’t have been a minute that I’d been standing there, frozen. But any time at all is time you don’t have when the murderer could be anywhere, was probably still here. The HCPD said 24 hours, _someone else_ had said seven, and D—
  * (a pause; he can’t bring himself to say it)
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno.
  * JUNO:
  * I can’t. You aren’t there, you aren’t real, this is—
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno, please.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * They reached for me. Just like Avery’s holo had, right before Dr. Heart’s body had fallen. I still—couldn’t—move.
  * MORAI:
  * CAW!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And then that bird swept into the room and flew straight for the hologram.
  * JUNO:
  * (surprised noise)
  * [SOUND: That same musical-light tinkling or a fade-out sort of thing]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And they were gone.
  * [SOUND: Pecking at metal, a button being pressed. The raven is thoroughly acquainted with these things and really doesn’t like them.]
  * JUNO:
  * (a long, shaky sigh)
  * Bet you’re real proud of yourself, huh.
  * MORAI:
  * (brusquely)
  * Caw. All seeing, all seemed.
  * JUNO:
  * Right. Don’t get too comfy, we gotta move.
  * Hey, you like spooky black tunnels?
  * [SOUND: Quizzical bird noise]
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, me neither.
  * But what’s…
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I was already one foot in, when I saw something gleaming on the floor. And then something else. Mid-level. Right about where you’d hold a blaster.
  * JUNO:
  * Oh, come on—
  * [SOUND: A muffled blaster shot; do they have silencers on Mars? Sure, why not.]
  * [SOUND: A raven’s squawk, clearly ruffled; flapping wings]
  * [SOUND: Footsteps away]



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [In Media Res: Dr. Heart and Juliet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17843186)


	5. Ep. 2, Scene 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art for this chapter is by the amazing [Em](https://cryke-art.tumblr.com/)! Thanks so much; it's wonderful!

  * ## **SCENE 2:**

  * [SETTING: The same spooky attic as before. Juno is passed out on the ground. It’s not an unfamiliar sight, let’s all be honest with ourselves here.]
  * [SOUND: someone shaking someone else—clothes movement?]
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel. Mistah Steel!
  * JUNO:
  * Hmmmgrnfl…
  * RITA:
  * Boss!!
  * [SOUND: A light tap]
  * JUNO:
  * (muffled)
  * Gimme a minute…
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, now is not—the time—for a nap!
  * (on each break, she shoves him; Rita effort noises)
  * MORAI:
  * (directly next to him)
  * CAW!
  * JUNO:
  * Ah! Okay, I’m up, I’m up. Geez.
  * What…
  * RITA:
  * Are you okay?
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, I’m… fine…
  * RITA:
  * Great! So let’s get outta here. You know how much I love spooks and scares in my streams, but this house is actually real creepy once you get wandering around it, I think I heard someone laughing a few times and I turned around, no one was there! and— 
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, there’s a killer on the loose in the house. I’ll take you back to the party if you want, but I can’t just leave.
  * RITA:
  * Oh, they’re probably long gone by now.
  * JUNO:
  * Wait, how long was I out?
  * RITA:
  * Well, everything went down at midnight exactly, and it’s… 12:27.
  * JUNO:
  * What were you doing down there for twenty-seven minutes?
  * RITA:
  * Well, you told me to stay down there, didn’t you?
  * They wouldn’t let anyone leave the ballroom, though; tried to seal it off tight. I woulda stayed there with Avery, poor lady, she ain’t doin’ so hot, but then who would be, I guess, but I tried to call you and you weren’t picking up, and then I tried to call you again, and you weren’t pickin’ up, and then I tried to—
  * JUNO:
  * —call me again, then what happened?
  * RITA:
  * So then I figured, well, you might be in some sorta trouble on account of how you’re always in trouble in these things.
  * JUNO:
  * So you used the—
  * RITA:
  * It was just like a spy stream, Mistah Steel! I was sneaking around and everything!
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, you could’ve been—
  * RITA:
  * But you were in trouble, and I did find you, and now we can go back and get your head checked out because a stun blast to the head’s not just something you shake off, boss.
  * JUNO:
  * I’ll be fine.
  * Hey, Rita? You didn’t by any chance… notice a big, dark passage over there when you came in, did you?
  * RITA:
  * A passage? No. How’s your head feeling?
  * JUNO:
  * It’s not my head. She saw it too.
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * RITA:
  * ...right. So I’m just gonna check the blueprints of the house again real quick, and— we’re looking for some kind of—
  * (growing from skepticism to barely contained excitement)
  * _hidden passage?_
  * JUNO:
  * (groans)
  * I thought you just said you were over the spooky-house thing.RITA:
  * Well, sure, but hidden passages are exciting.
  * JUNO:
  * Only if a murderer’s not in them.
  * RITA:
  * Useful, though, if you need a quick getaway. You know, like in _Nebulous Nights on Neptune_ , when the super-secret thief figures out that the only way into the museum is this old extension offa the loading hatch that hasn't been used for decades, since it’s been built practically, but the problem was—
  * JUNO:
  * Yep, exactly like that. Did you find the blueprints?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, but nothing’s showing up. It doesn’t seem—oh, wouldja look at that.
  * [SOUND: Comms beep]
  * There’s no hidden passage, but see right there? How it doesn’t match where the building’s outer wall is? It’s just like that episode I was telling you about, where—
  * JUNO:
  * There should be a passageway or something there. Hey, is that the same for everywhere in the house? Anything else that connects?
  * RITA:
  * I’ll look for that; you look for the _secret entrance_.
  * JUNO:
  * (a long-suffering sigh)
  * This isn’t fun, Rita.
  * RITA:
  * You don’t think anything’s fun.
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * [SOUND: JUNO's getting up, looking around, etc.]
  * RITA:
  * See? She knows.
  * JUNO:
  * You can’t just—say she’s agreeing with you whenever she says something.
  * RITA:
  * Why not?
  * MORAI:
  * All seeing, all seemed!
  * [SOUND: MORAI’s pecking at something wooden.]
  * JUNO:
  * She’s got—different sounds, different ways she moves. When she agrees with you.
  * RITA:
  * Aw, Mistah Steel, you’ve been paying attention! Can we get a bird for the office?
  * JUNO:
  * (has not been secretly thinking about the same thing)
  * No.
  * RITA:
  * Well. She’d probably make a mess all over the place anyways.
  * JUNO:
  * She would not— 
  * (stops himself)
  * RITA:
  * (knowingly)
  * Uh-huh. _Anyways_ , it looks like there’s a lotta space between the outer wall and the inner wall. I’m not seeing any flooring, but there’s gotta be something there. Probably.
  * Boss? You, uh, okay?
  * JUNO:
  * Uh-huh. I said I was fine, didn't I?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I wasn’t. I could've told Rita that, but I still had a job to do, and there was the matter of a killer potentially still in the house, so I steadied myself with a hand on the wall...
  * … next to a painting that hadn’t been there when I’d walked in. I might’ve just been distracted by—other things—but I’d remember this one. Big, old, golden frame that was probably worth more than what most Hyperion families saw in a year: looked like a painted portrait of a family, dressed in the same style as the stupid house and the stupid show. Would’ve been good work, too, except where the faces should’ve been, it looked like the canvas had been ripped, cut, and burned, too, for good measure.
  * JUNO:
  * ...hey, Rita?
  * RITA:
  * Just a minute, Mistah Steel.
  * JUNO:
  * Do you recognize this… thing?
  * RITA:
  * Oh! Uh, yeah. That was the first promotional piece for _Rubortem Lane_. ‘Cept the faces are… well, they’re real messed up, aren’t they.
  * JUNO:
  * I can see that. Why’s it hung up here if it’s—oh. 
  * Rita, get ready for the oldest trick in the book.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, that paintin’ doesn’t look friendly, I’d be real careful— 
  * JUNO:
  * There. Ha!
  * [SOUND: A button being pressed. A loud click, then a slow swinging motion]
  * RITA:
  * Wow, you really weren’t kidding, boss.
  * JUNO:
  * Nope.
  * [SOUND: Wings flapping. MORAI lands on Juno’s shoulder]
  * You know, there are other people to bother now.
  * MORAI:
  * All seeing, all seemed.
  * RITA:
  * (sing-song)
  * She likes you…
  * JUNO:
  * Are you coming with me or not? I can take you back if you want, but--.
  * RITA:
  * The last time you headed out on your own here, Mistah Steel, you got knocked out. And I don’t know about you, but I heard some scary noises comin’ up here. Kids laughing, footsteps, doors openin’ by themselves...
  * JUNO:
  * I said I’d take you back—
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel. You said there wasn’t much time, right? And if there’s trouble, you’ll need back-up. I can be your back-up, okay?
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah. If you're sure. Just—be careful, okay?
  * RITA:
  * Sure thing, Mistah Steel.
  * [ID: A dimly lit drawing of Rita and Juno standing in a doorway. Rita is a chubby black woman with an afro and a pink cloth headband. Her dress is a matching pink off-the-shoulder one. Juno is a black lady with short black hair, an eyepatch, and a long dark blue dress. He is holding a light that is showing off a watch in the foreground of the image. He looks concerned, and Rita looks excited. There is a large raven cawing beside Rita. End description]
  * [SOUND: Comms beep—whatever Hyperion comm’s equivalent of a flashlight app being activated sound is]
  * And that should give us a little light…
  * JUNO:
  * Hey, real quick; shine it over there.
  * Yeah, that’s what I thought.
  * [SOUND: Footsteps crunching over dusty wood, slight metallic clinking]
  * Juliet’s watch.
  * RITA:
  * Her watch? No, that can't be Juliet's.
  * JUNO:
  * Looks like it. Didn’t you say she always had it on—
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * [SOUND: Wings flapping, a bird-on-man struggle; pecking against the glass/metal watch face]
  * JUNO:
  * Hey, knock it off!
  * [SOUND: MORAI is undeterred. Pecking continues]
  * JUNO:
  * Ow! Stop—quit it! Rita, catch!
  * RITA:
  * What? Mistah Steel, I’ve already got—
  * [SOUND: Clattering of metal on wood; the watch hits the floor]
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * (somehow satisfied)
  * JUNO:
  * Dumb bird, it’s just a—wait. That’s… not what she was saying before.
  * RITA:
  * That’s what she always—wait, what'd she say?
  * [SOUND: Metallic clinking as she picks at the watch]
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen.
  * [SOUND: Comms beep]
  * RITA:
  * Oh!
  * JUNO:
  * What?
  * RITA:
  * It’s trying to connect to my comms.
  * JUNO:
  * It didn’t do that before?
  * RITA:
  * It was behind a _secret door_ , Mistah Steel.
  * JUNO:
  * That means it can’t connect?
  * RITA:
  * It only works in a certain range, and this one’s pretty small.
  * MORAI:
  * CAW!
  * [SOUND: Metallic clink; RITA picks up the watch from the floor]
  * JUNO:
  * Can you get it working?
  * MORAI:
  * (distressed)
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * [SOUND: Bird rustling, hopping, flapping sounds]
  * RITA:
  * Sure, if you give me a minute. And—ow!—keep her away from my—ow! Hair.
  * MORAI:
  * CAW!
  * JUNO:
  * (sighs)
  * Hey… you. Come over here.
  * Yeah, got a nice, juicy ear for you to chew on.
  * [SOUND: Flapping wings]
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen.
  * RITA:
  * It’s good that you’re making some new friends, boss, even if they do peck at you.
  * [SOUND: MORAI lands, not really gently, bats Juno’s head with a wing]
  * MORAI:
  * Chew on.
  * JUNO:
  * (hiss of pain; boy, are raven talons sharp)
  * Don’t… actually take me up on that offer, okay.
  * So can we go now?
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, I am juggling the blueprints we’re following, hacking into a locked comms watch when I don’t know the password, holding the other parta my comms up as a light for us, and you’re gonna ask me if I’m ready to walk down a dark, spooky passageway without tripping over my own lil’ feet.
  * JUNO:
  * (slightly petulant)
  * I’m holding the bird.
  * RITA:
  * And you’re doin’ a real good job of that. Give me your comms.
  * [SOUND: A few comms beeps and boops]
  * There. Now you got the bird _and_ the light.
  * [SOUND: Footsteps echoing]
  * JUNO:
  * Can always count on you, Rita.
  * RITA:
  * Aw, really, boss?
  * JUNO:
  * To complain? Sure.
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * JUNO:
  * See?
  * RITA:
  * That was not agreeing, boss.
  * JUNO:
  * How would you know?
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, yeah, we get it.
  * So the body down there.
  * [SOUND: Switches to footsteps on wooden stairs?]
  * RITA:
  * Ooh! Yeah! I’ve got a question about that!
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah?
  * RITA:
  * Why would you tell me to look at a body?
  * JUNO:
  * … you’re Rita?
  * RITA:
  * That doesn’t mean I know about dead bodies, Mistah Steel!
  * [SOUND: Footsteps slightly off, echoey]
  * JUNO:
  * You know a lot about a lot of things! You work for me! I deal with dead bodies a lot! Why wouldn’t you know—
  * (cuts himself off)
  * RITA:
  * You’re lucky—
  * [SOUND: Comms done “beep!” noise]
  * RITA:
  * So I don’t know much about dead bodies, or that much, anyways, but you remember that weird thing I found on the floor, the one that looked like a real fancy ear cuff?
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, I thought there might’ve been another one on her ear.
  * RITA:
  * Boss! You’re stealing my thunder!
  * (a huff)
  * But yeah, turns out it was, and—well, it’s takin’ a lot longer to do this one, since I didn’t wanna touch it and “contaminate the evidence,” since you got all cranky over that last time,but I managed to get a scan of it, and—here.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I looked. Dr. Heart’s face was still and cold—just as I’d seen her before. It was flawless. I knew I wouldn’t see anything until Rita was done doing whatever else she had to do, but I almost thought I could see past it anyways—someone lurking, waiting underneath the mask.
  * JUNO:
  * How long’s it going to take?
  * RITA:
  * I don’t know, boss. The other one, I had the piece here for. This one, I’m working just with scans of it; it’s gonna take more time.
  * JUNO:
  * Look, as soon as it’s done, let me know. We need to figure out who’s under there—and soon.
  * RITA:
  * Here: you take this one, it’ll just be running by itself, mainly,
  * [SOUND: A comms unit is foisted upon JUNO]
  * and I’ll work on the watch.
  * JUNO:
  * Uh, Rita, I dunno—
  * RITA:
  * It’ll be fine, Mistah Steel. Just let me know if it beeps!
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * JUNO:
  * What?
  * MORAI:
  * CAW!
  * RITA:
  * Ah!
  * [SOUND: Heels slipping, scrabbling against wood]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * We hadn’t been watching where we were going too closely, which was… maybe a bad thing?
  * JUNO:
  * Rita!
  * RITA:
  * I’m—I’m alright, Mistah Steel.
  * (sigh of relief)
  * Boy, that’s a big drop there.
  * JUNO:
  * What is with these people and heights.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, I like these shoes. And my ankles. I’m not jumping down there.
  * JUNO:
  * You won’t have to. See, there’s a ladder right—there.
  * RITA:
  * What’s wrong?
  * JUNO:
  * Nothing, just—does this seem too easy to you?
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, I am workin’ real hard over here, and I just want you to know none a’ this seems easy to me, and I am expectin’ a lotta overtime for this—time and a half, at least.
  * JUNO:
  * No, but the portrait being unlocked, the bracelet just lying right there, the ladder… It’s almost like someone wanted us to follow them.
  * Look, I’ll go first, just to make sure it’s safe. Keep an eye out, okay?
  * RITA:
  * (distracted)
  * Sure thing, Mistah Steel.
  * [SOUND: They both climb down the ladder.]
  * [SOUND: faint creepy music box/carnival music. Just-the creepiest you can find. After the initial bit, fades but continues in the background.]
  * RITA:
  * ...Boss, you hearin’ that?
  * JUNO:
  * ...yep.
  * RITA:
  * Oh, good. This house is really messin’ with me, you know, I thought maybe—
  * JUNO:
  * (his best attempt at a brave front)
  * It’s just a house, Rita.
  * RITA:
  * Maybe, but it’s a real spooky one. You know, I swear I saw somethin’ flash by real quick in the other hallway before the ladder and those pictures on the walls, I know they’re just stuff from _Rubortem Lane_ , but I swear, Mistah Steel,—
  * JUNO:
  * Rita. Rita!
  * RITA:
  * (in full-blown Rita mode)
  * —I can see their eyes followin’ us, and it’s just real creepy, and now it’s just as bad as that episode where the portraits come to life and start attackin’ Lorelai with ghost-knives but it’s worse because I’m not just watchin’ it, I’m in it, and what with the holos downstairs and the murder and the—
  * JUNO:
  * RITA!
  * Look. You can’t—you can’t lose your cool yet, okay. You came along to be my back-up, right?
  * RITA:
  * Uh-huh.
  * JUNO:
  * When we get to the end of this and everything gets solved, you can freak out. Right now, I need you to focus. Whatever’s on that drive is probably the key to this whole thing, and you’re the only one who’s got any chance of cracking it.
  * Not me, you. Okay?
  * RITA:
  * (a deep breath. Possibly the deepest breath she’s ever taken.)
  * Okay. Okay, Mistah Steel.
  * (Rita revving noises; she is throwing her emotions in totally the opposite way)
  * You know what? You’re right! We’re gonna ignore all the creepy portraits and the scary holos and the spooky music, and we’re gonna crack this case wide open, just Mistah Steel and Rita and bird!
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * RITA:
  * And Avery Lee’s up there, and she’s probably really sad, but we’re gonna find out who killed her fiancee! And she’s still gonna be sad, but she’ll have some closure!
  * JUNO:
  * Yep, that’s the spirit. Watch your step.
  * RITA:
  * And we’re gonna take down the ghosts!
  * JUNO:
  * What? There are no ghosts, you know that, right?
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, I don’t judge you for believing in crazy things like kangaroos; you don’t judge me for believing in ghosts when there’s been evidence all over this place.
  * JUNO:
  * K-kangaroos are real! They lived on earth millennia ago! There’s writing. There’s pictures of them. They went extinct.
  * RITA:
  * Mhmm. Sure thing, boss. It’s definitely not just someone who saw a real muscley rabbit with a fanny pack and thought it’d look cute runnin’ around on earth.
  * [SOUND: RITA typing away on her comms]
  * You know, she really didn’t want anyone getting in here.
  * JUNO:
  * (a frustrated noise. For the sake of his sanity, he lets the kangaroo thing go)
  * You find anything on the watch yet?
  * RITA:
  * Oh, I got through the watch ages ago. Nothin’ on there, but it’s got a nifty compartment for secret stuff, real neat, and it looks like there’s a TCB400 in there, just like Dr. Heart had! Should work wireless, too—least, that’s what all the advertisements say.
  * JUNO:
  * So… how long will it take to get it open?
  * RITA:
  * It’s new technology, and it looks reinforced, even; I ain’t never worked with somethin’ like this before, boss. I’m trying, but it might take some time.
  * JUNO:
  * Alright, well, just—hurry up, alright?
  * RITA:
  * It’ll be done when it gets done, okay, Mistah Steel?
  * JUNO:
  * Fine.
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * JUNO:
  * Right?
  * RITA:
  * (frustrated noise)
  * It’s not responding to anything; it’s almost like…
  * JUNO:
  * Almost like what?
  * RITA:
  * Like it’s already broken. It’s not recognizing any commands, but if I can break the watch’s compartment open to get to the actual drive and insert it into my comms—
  * JUNO:
  * (This is all technobabble to him.)
  * Give it here.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, you can’t just pry it open, you could break it!
  * JUNO:
  * Then what are we supposed to do?
  * RITA:
  * I can do this, I just need a little time; it should be real easy to break through, but the password’s being sticky, for some reason…
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * RITA:
  * … Mistah Steel, that bird—
  * JUNO:
  * —has been saying the same phrase as the holodisk in the safe, hasn’t it.
  * RITA:
  * I think so. What was the number?
  * [SOUND: He’s fumbling around for the disk. He pulls it out.]
  * 35-06-39.
  * [SOUND: Beep boop beep comms. An error sound.]
  * RITA:
  * It was a good thought, but—
  * MORAI:
  * All seeming, all seen!
  * [SOUND: A ping! And they’re through. The compartment clicks open.]
  * RITA:
  * Well, ain’t that something!
  * JUNO:
  * (quietly, to the raven)
  * Good girl.
  * MORAI:
  * Good girl.
  * JUNO:
  * (to Rita)
  * Okay, so what’s on it?
  * RITA:
  * I ain’t even got it outta the compartment yet, just wait a—uh, Mistah Steel?
  * JUNO:
  * … yeah?
  * RITA:
  * I figured out why the TCB400 wasn’t responding.
  * [SOUND: A metal clink]
  * JUNO:
  * Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Are you serious? It’s broken?
  * RITA:
  * Fried pretty bad, too. Looks like someone took a torch to it.
  * JUNO:
  * A torch? That—lemme see that.
  * [SOUND: He fiddles with the broken technology. It is really, really, really broken.]
  * JUNO:
  * You can’t—fix it? Or something?
  * RITA:
  * Well, if you got a couple of days, you could probably get somethin’ offa it, but it might not be much.
  * [SOUND: JUNO makes a sound of frustration.]
  * [SOUND: Somewhere in the distance, a door slams shut.]
  * MORAI:
  * CAW!
  * RITA:
  * ...Mistah Steel?
  * JUNO:
  * Probably just someone in the house.
  * RITA:
  * This far down?
  * JUNO:
  * I _said_ , it’s probably just someone in the house. Come on, we don’t have all night.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * We kept walking, further and further down, turning every so often on Rita’s directions. Dusty and cold, with trash cluttering the floor… Kinda reminded me of the sewers. Or Funhouse. Or the Martian desert at night in winter. Or, well, a lotta other places I didn’t like remembering. The portraits, though: those were unsettling. Every time my light flashed on one of them, the hair on the back of my neck rose. Their eyes seemed to follow us until the light passed or we were out of sight.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed; kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [In Media Res: Rita](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17866574)


	6. Chapter 6

  * ## **SCENE THREE**

  * [SETTING: That same spooky hallway!]
  * [SOUND: That same carnival music]
  * RITA:
  * This should be it, boss. There should be a door to a room right—
  * JUNO:
  * At that dead end?
  * RITA:
  * There’s the only place it makes sense.
  * JUNO:
  * Stay back, okay?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I looked at the walls. Couldn’t see anything in the dim light, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. I started feeling around, looking for edges, grooves, anything to pull on.
  * My hand passed right through the wall. It was a door—metal, cold to the touch.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel!
  * JUNO:
  * Huh.
  * [SOUND: The carnival music noise gets much clearer and more distinct, then stops abruptly.]
  * [SOUND: A keypad makes a BEEP activation noise.]
  * JUNO:
  * Well, that’s one mystery solved: the case of the terrible music. Looks like it was leading us… here. To this holo. And keypad. Nope, nothing to worry about.
  * RITA:
  * Dunno if it’s a holo, boss. The keypad’s lit up, but the wall looks like it’s takin’ the light given and reflecting only enough so that it looks natural—there’s no shine to it. I don’t know how, but...
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, yeah, amazing, whatever. Is it useful right now?
  * RITA:
  * No, but it’s real advanced stuff, Mistah Steel. Now what are we gonna do about—
  * [SOUND: Keys on the keypad start BEEP-BOOPing by themselves.]
  * JUNO:
  * Uh. Okay, that's... weird.
  * [SOUND: Keypad finishes with a loud BEEP! Silence, for a second.]
  * JUNO:
  * Look, I don’t know who’s waiting in there, but I’m going to try the door. If I tell you to run, you run. No heroics. Got it?
  * RITA:
  * Uh-huh. Got it.
  * [SOUND: JUNO moves his shoulder to get MORAI to move, but she’s not budging. She flaps her wings.]
  * MORAI:
  * Caw!
  * JUNO:
  * You too.
  * [SOUND: The door unlocks, loudly, then creaks open in that really old creaky-door way. It might actually take forever, or it just feels like it.]
  * JUNO:
  * Hello?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * It was an office, clean and organized, with wood paneling and cabinets. Looked like something out of an old Earth stream. No windows—we were too far down for that. No cameras, or at least none I could see. No one, either.
  * JUNO:
  * Alright, it’s clear.
  * MORAI:
  * All seeing, all seemed!
  * RITA:
  * Wow, this place is real fancy, Mistah Steel! Lookit that monitor—almost like my setup at home, with it on the whole wall and everything!
  * JUNO:
  * It’s really something.
  * RITA:
  * And look!
  * [SOUND: A drawer opening, sort of a metallic-y sound; RITA’s grabbed a bunch of drives]
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, what are you doing—
  * RITA:
  * TCB400s, gotta be a few dozen of them in here at least!
  * JUNO:
  * Huh. Any of them say “Evidence of Crimes or Mob Affiliation” on them?
  * RITA:
  * No, but gimme a minute, Mistah Steel; I’ll see what I can do. Hey, check on that scan for the other mask that was on the dead body, make sure it’s still goin’?
  * [SOUND: RITA click-clacking, papers shuffling]
  * JUNO:
  * It hasn’t gone off yet. Gimme a second to look around.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * There wasn’t much on the desk; a few pens, the drawer Rita’d opened, and a few scattered papers, some on the floor. It looked like whoever’d been here had left in a hurry. Right in the middle of the desk, however, was an envelope addressed to Avery Lee.
  * JUNO:
  * … from your Heart.
  * RITA:
  * Ooh, Mistah Steel, how romantic!
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, she’s… well, at the very least, we know she’s involved in some mob stuff.
  * RITA:
  * Maybe. Just read it already; I wanna know what it says!
  * [SOUND: RITA’s pushing at JUNO to get him to move faster while still typing with one hand]
  * JUNO:
  * I’m going, I’m going! Go do your drive thing!
  * RITA:
  * (sound of frustration: she’s incredibly curious)
  * I’m working on it, Mistah Steel, but if there’s anything good, you let me know right away!
  * [SOUND: An envelope ripping]
  * JUNO (taken over by HEART, gradually):
  * Avery:
  * My dearest, I know this comes as a bit of a shock, and I’m sorry for misleading you; please believe me when I say it was the only way. I’m afraid Mars is no longer safe for me, and I fear it may not be for you, either, with our connection. I’ve asked you before, and I fear this may be the last time I can: come away with me, before it’s too late. The Silex have gotten a hold of my technology, and although at this point, they don’t know how to use it or who made it, it’s only a matter of time before they do, and before they come looking for me.
  * If this is to be our final parting, so be it: but if you wish to come with me, I can protect you far better with you by my side than from afar. Let me know of your decision, but be careful; there are eyes everywhere.
  * Your only Heart,
  * Rebecca
  * RITA:
  * But… Mistah Steel, that’s—that’s horrible! Can you imagine—
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, there’s still a body upstairs, and even if she didn’t kill it, she used it to get away. And this is proof that she was working with the Silex—
  * [SOUND: He brandishes the paper.]
  * RITA:
  * —was forced to—
  * JUNO:
  * Not from what I heard last night from a few friends at the HCPD. Seems she was real friendly with some of the higher-ups. Probably sold her tech for a few bucks, worked with them on a few special items, then Juliet got ahold of…
  * Did you get anything yet?
  * RITA:
  * Not yet, but—
  * JUNO:
  * And Heart knew she didn’t have the drive when she wrote this; what was she going to do when they found it with her work all over it?
  * RITA:
  * Say they forced her to do it? Like it sounds like they did, Mistah Steel? Are you sure—
  * JUNO:
  * It sounds like she was ready to run away, but there’s no point if the evidence was still out there linking her to whatever the families were doing. If Juliet was still out there—she probably bought her silence, but if there was a chance she could talk...
  * [SOUND: He starts pacing.]
  * Heart needed to find the drive first, get rid of it. Whatever it had on it, it’s the key to Heart making sure she got out spotless. And if the drive was on Juliet, and she hadn’t found it…
  * [SOUND: The typing sounds stop. There’s a BEEP!]
  * RITA:
  * But Mistah Steel, the drive’s broken—
  * [SOUND: Another door. Someone’s SLAMMED it open]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I looked down at Rita’s beeping comms for just a second. And then my blood ran cold, like every ounce of warmth had been sucked out of the room. The scans for the mask on the dead person had finally finished, and underneath the Heart’s perfect holo-mask was another face, the real face, dead and pale and still—Juliet. And then I looked up at the intruder—and into Juliet’s wild, panicked eyes.
  * “JULIET” (HEART’s imitation):
  * Juno, 
  * (a breath)
  * Juno. They’ve got Avery.
  * RITA:
  * Ms. Juliet? Where’ve ya been all night, Ms. Avery’s been worried—
  * JUNO:
  * Who’s got Avery?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I glanced over to Rita and tried to give her a look. Had she seen the shiny earcuff our “friend” was accessorizing with? Hard to tell. She was white as a ghost, but she’d found something on the computer; there was a look in her eyes. I just needed some more time to distract… whoever this was.
  * [SOUND: Comms typing slowly continues. Slowly, as quietly as possible. RITA is trying to be The Sneakiest about this as she can be. Is it working? Fades into background but continues until the confrontation.]
  * Hell, too bad that holo mask didn’t do voices. Heart would’ve made a fortune. As it was, she could’ve picked up a few tips from her fiancee about voices before trying this on someone who’d spoken with Juliet.
  * “JULIET”:
  * Bryce and Klane: the police who were so unhelpful last night. I assume you remember?
  * [SOUND: She takes a step into the room, still a little out of breath.]
  * “JULIET”:
  * You need to stop them, detective! If you don’t, who knows what they’ll do to—
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel—
  * JUNO:
  * Sure, Juliet, let’s go. Sounds important, and we don’t want Avery getting involved in whatever this is, do we?
  * “JULIET”:
  * Oh, thank you, detective. Your help in this is so kind.
  * “JULIET”:
  * And… your secretary?
  * JUNO:
  * Oh, you’ve met Rita? Funny thing, that. Thought she’d have told me about it before now. Rita, you got things handled down here?
  * RITA:
  * Sure thing, boss! You two go save the day!
  * “JULIET”:
  * You’re going to leave her here? All alone? Don’t you know there are spirits in these halls?
  * JUNO:
  * Rita’s been in worse scrapes before; she can handle herself. Now about those cops arresting Avery, let’s go clear this up.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Heart didn’t look sure of herself at all now. Leaving Rita down here alone had her spooked, and I could guess as to why.
  * “JULIET”:
  * With the Silex after me? I think I’d be safer down here, with Ms. Rita.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel’s great at keepin’ people safe, Ms. Juliet!
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, Juliet. Come on, we don’t want them to get away.
  * “JULIET”:
  * I’d very much feel safer down here, detective.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Her eyes met mine. Her hand moved to her blaster. And then mine moved—towards her face.
  * [SOUND: A punch, crashing bookshelves]
  * That holomask was a solid work of beauty; even under pressure, it didn’t flicker or crack at all. Just kept on showing me a dead woman’s face.
  * JUNO:
  * Rita! The drive!
  * RITA:
  * Right, boss!
  * [SOUND: JUNO catches a drive and starts running]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I didn’t have time to look at what it was, if it was the real burned one or just a decoy. It didn’t matter, really—what was important was getting her away from Rita and whatever she’d found. I just caught it, barreled through the door, and hoped Dr. Heart believed me enough to follow.
  * [SOUND: A blaster shot]
  * RITA:
  * (scream)
  * JUNO:
  * Rita!
  * (a pause)
  * RITA!
  * [SOUND: Footsteps pounding]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Turns out, I was only half-right.
  * [SOUND: Bodies colliding; HEART’S gun goes skittering out of range. She lunges for it, but JUNO grabs her.]
  * JUNO:
  * What did you do to Rita, you sick—
  * DR. HEART:
  * Not to fear—I only took care of the computer, Mr. Steel.
  * [SOUND: Pushing, a few punches, continues]
  * JUNO:
  * RITA! RITA! You disgusting, dumb, lousy—get out of my way!
  * RITA:
  * (from a distance)
  * M-mistah Steel, I’m okay, go, go, go!
  * DR. HEART:
  * I’d like my drive back, if you don’t mind.
  * JUNO:
  * Like hell I mind!
  * [SOUND: A click]
  * JUNO:
  * She turned Juliet’s mask off, and in the instant before everything went black, I saw her—Dr. Heart, as cold and impassive as always, reaching for her blaster. Her eyes shone strangely in that flash of light. And then—nothing.
  * [SOUND: JUNO’s breathing, heavy, loud]
  * JUNO:
  * You’re still there. You can’t leave without that drive.
  * [SOUND: HEART pushes him. An “oof!”]
  * JUNO:
  * That’s not fighting fair.
  * [SOUND: A swing! JUNO’s listening for it. He ducks barely in time. Throughout this, some jabs, some hooks; some connect, some don’t. Fight-y noises.]
  * JUNO:
  * That mask give you night vision too?
  * HEART:
  * (laughs)
  * Something like that.
  * JUNO:
  * How about you turn it back on, give a lady a chance?
  * HEART:
  * You should know in your line of work, detective: you don’t get anywhere fighting fair.
  * JUNO:
  * You won’t kill me.
  * DR. HEART:
  * Corpses are easier to search.
  * JUNO:
  * Back in the attic, it was you. You had every chance to kill me—should’ve—but you didn’t.
  * DR. HEART:
  * You’re correct.
  * Does that make you feel better, detective?
  * [SOUND: Footsteps. She’s done playing. She throws JUNO against the wall.]
  * JUNO:
  * Not really.
  * DR. HEART:
  * You have good instincts. It shouldn’t.
  * [SOUND: JUNO kicks out, tries to go for his gun.]
  * DR. HEART:
  * Detective, I would caution against that. There may be… accidents.
  * [SOUND: She starts choking him out. Scrabbling sounds: JUNO’s scratching at anything he can reach to get her off him.]
  * DR. HEART:
  * Blasters are so difficult to predict sometimes, and you’ve already been stunned once tonight. I’d hate to bring in—damaged goods.
  * JUNO:
  * (gasping)
  * So what’s Avery going to think, huh?
  * DR. HEART:
  * I think she’s not going to know.
  * Sad, really—the detective kidnapped by one of Hyperion’s most vicious families, the secretary killed by them, Juliet, too… the poor techno-beautician forced to work for them, lucky to get out with her life… all such poor, sad people…
  * They want you alive, for some reason. Lucky you.
  * (laughing)
  * Now you can give me the drive, come quietly, and get a few of those questions answered, or we can do this the… inelegant way.
  * [SOUND: JUNO’s gasps getting softer, scrabbling slowing]
  * Which one will it be, detective?
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I was desperate. I was tired. I was scared. I reached for anything I could grab, anything that would hurt—and caught her earcuff. I pulled.
  * Her eyes gleamed in the dark—just her eyes, at first, then spreading out, spider-silk thin threads of light over her whole face, the only thing lighting up the hallway. Just hanging there. I was pinned between the floating face of a dead woman and a wall.
  * But I could see her clearly. And I had just enough energy left for one last—
  * [SOUND: He punches her. It’s a big POW!]
  * JUNO:
  * (breathing hard)
  * If you know one thing about me, Heart, it’s that I never do things elegantly. Now—
  * [SOUND: another click! Lights out.]
  * JUNO:
  * (groans)
  * Oh, come on. This is getting old, isn’t it?
  * (silence)
  * How is this still fun for you?
  * [SOUND: a shift; JUNO grabs at HEART]
  * JUNO:
  * Goddamnit, you—
  * [SOUND: JUNO’s blaster is pressed against his own head]
  * HEART:
  * (quiet, almost whispered)
  * I’m sorry, Juno Steel. For my sake more than yours, but the sentiment still stands. Give me the drive and come quietly. You may have some security in this, but others do not.
  * JUNO:
  * Don’t. Threaten. Rita.
  * [SOUND: He grabs her gun arm, twists it to his chest, and punches her in the stomach]
  * [SOUND: The blaster goes off]
  * JUNO:
  * (sound of pain)
  * [SOUND: All background noise becomes unclear and faded—like from long ago or far away]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The silencer was still on, but right next to my ear—it was like a bomb went off. I still had a hold of her arm, my blaster, but she twisted out of it, like a snake—
  * DR. HEART:
  * (muted and a little fuzzy but semi-understandable)
  * Goodnight, Detective Steel.
  * [SOUND: Muted, fuzzy; a door SLAMMING open further away]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * The blaster pressed against my forehead, cold and smooth. I couldn’t pull the same trick twice, not with my ears still ringing loud as bells and woozy from the loss of equilibrium. Not with every breath feeling like swallowing gravel. Not in the dark.
  * But maybe I could try something else.
  * [SOUND: RITA running up]
  * JUNO:
  * What, I don’t get a bedtime story first?
  * RITA:
  * Oh, no, you don’t!
  * [SOUND: Muted, fuzzy; a BIG, SCARY button is pressed, HEART screams—some technological short-out sounds]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Or… not?
  * RITA:
  * (still a little muted/fuzzy but less so)
  * Rrrrrr, take that! Don’t you dare touch Mistah Steel, you bad smart romantic lady, he’s private property, unless he says so and I’m pretty sure he’s not gonna say so to you—
  * (panting)
  * Mistah Steel! Are you okay?
  * MORAI:
  * All seeing, all seemed!
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, yeah, just… get her off me.
  * [SOUND: They heave and push a bit]
  * How’d you do that?
  * RITA:
  * Oh, well, you know, I was looking around a bit after that woman broke a perfectly nice computer with a lotta interestin’ files on it, looks like she was working on more advanced models, a lotta interestin’ clients too, but the one on her ear was real basic stuff, real easy to get through, and then I just made a remote transmitter that made all the juice in the earpiece jump to the nearest thing—that was her head—and I wasn’t gonna use it, I swear, boss, just threaten with it, because it’s real bad to have that many volts goin’ through your brain at all, and I’d mostly figured out the voltage and everything but I wasn’t sure, but then I saw you backed up against that wall and you were lookin’ real bad, and she was gonna shoot you and it kinda looked like she already had, and, and, and—and I didn’t mean to do it, Mistah Steel, I swear, but I just got so mad, and—
  * JUNO:
  * (everything is still a little muted and fuzzy, and it hurts)
  * Rita… Rita, can you just… slow down a little?
  * RITA:
  * Uh, uh, uh, yeah, I think so. You’re okay though, Mistah Steel?
  * JUNO:
  * Sure. I’m fine. Yeah, I’m fine.
  * (a deep breath)
  * Hey, Rita?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, boss.
  * JUNO:
  * You know the way outta this mess from here?
  * RITA:
  * No problem, boss. It’s right back the way we came. You were right, too—looks like she was workin’ with the Silex. I was able to transfer some stuff to my comms before she came in an’ broke everything, so.
  * JUNO:
  * Great. Just… great. Let’s go.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Link to In Media Res: Dr. Heart and Guest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17889908)


	7. Chapter 7

  * ## **SCENE FOUR**

  * [SETTING: RITA’s place. It’s got a ridiculously big, comfy couch, the kind you can sink right into and get stuck for days, and a huge set of screens—maybe projectors on the ceilings? Whatever the future Martian equivalent of a media room is, RITA’s got it, and it takes up more than half of her apartment.]
  * JUNO (NARRATION):
  * It’d been a couple of days before things settled down; Heart had given her testimony to the police, sat in a cell for a few hours, met with Avery, and then, before anyone could say boo, she’d up and disappeared. Took the evidence they’d taken from her, too, before anyone could figure out how to work it.
  * Almost made me wish I’d taken her up on that offer to go see whoever it was she was working for—almost. I had the sneaking suspicion if I ever met them, I wouldn’t be leaving in the same number of pieces I came in with. I'd asked Rita to look into it, but nothing came up—not yet. It looked like I'd have to wait for them to make the next move.
  * The thought was hanging over my head, though—like a guillotine’s blade, sharp and unavoidable and damn near the only thing I could think about.
  * Better than some of the other thoughts that kept trying to break in, anyways.
  * [SOUND: Low fade-in over last narration line, random commercial/stream sounds]
  * RITA:
  * … Avery’s still real broken up about it, you know, but—boss? Boss?
  * JUNO:
  * Yeah, Rita: Avery’s sad, her best friend’s dead, her fiancee’s gone missing, it’s a big deal.
  * RITA:
  * Anyways, “the show must go on,” ‘s what she said, so they’re goin’ ahead with season four, but I dunno what they’re gonna do with Juliet’s character, since she’s dead, but at the end of season three—
  * JUNO:
  * (a grump)
  * Sounds like a real problem.
  * [SOUND: Chair squishes]
  * RITA:
  * Boss, we don’t gotta watch it today—
  * JUNO:
  * You wanted to watch the damn show, we’re watching the damn—
  * (catches himself, says the last word more gently)
  * show.
  * Hey, Rita?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, Mistah Steel.
  * JUNO:
  * How do you get out of this couch?
  * RITA:
  * Yeah, you’re really stuck in there, huh? Kinda takes practice.
  * [SOUND: JUNO’s head meets the back cushioning]
  * JUNO:
  * Great.
  * RITA:
  * (slowly going faster and more emotive as she works herself up)
  * You kinda gotta move with it, not against it. But you don’t gotta get up for anything; we got our drinks right here, we got our snacks—three kinds, ‘cause it’s an hour-long show and we want choices, so we got sausage snacks, some salmon snacks, and, oh, well, popcorn’s in the kitchen, but I’ll just get that in a minute—we got comfy seats, we got the biggest screen I could find. Yep, looks like we’re all set for
  * (a deep breath)
  * _Rubortem Lane Season Four Premiere_! Oh my god, boss, what’s Lorelai gonna do, the end of season three was such a stunner with the ghosts haunting the house, not the normal ghosts but the bad ones, you know, and Juliet turnin’ on Lorelai, and—
  * JUNO:
  * Rita?
  * (a pause, waiting for her to notice. She doesn’t)
  * RITA:
  * —and then when the werewolf almost got that baby, ooooh, I was cryin’ and wailin’, that poor lil’ baby all alone with no one in the world, and then—
  * JUNO:
  * Rita!
  * RITA:
  * —they found their parents and it was so emotional, they were so happy, and really, Mistah Steel, you just don’t see happiness like that on the streams these days, it’s all doom and gloom, but it’s good to know that even on a spooky show—
  * [SOUND: The same spooky tremolo music from the beginning of Ep 1 to signal _Rubortem Lane_ is beginning]
  * RITA:
  * (the loudest, longest gasp ever)
  * It’shereit’shereit’shereit’shereit’shereit’shere
  * JUNO:
  * …I’ll just go get the popcorn, then.
  * RITA:
  * NO!
  * [SOUND: RITA dove over the couch to keep Juno right where he is.]
  * If you miss even a second of this, Mistah Steel—
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, do you want popcorn?
  * ANNOUNCER:
  * Last time on _Rubortem Lane_ —
  * (continues but at a lower volume, barely audible in the background, along with a bunch of spooky, _RL_ -appropriate sounds and screams) 
  * Lorelai Lane, locked in deadly battle with the ghosts that overtook her house, her home, and her twin sister, must decide what is reality and what is fiction. Who does she trust? How can she ever again, when the one she loved most proved to be, in the end, nothing but a lie?
  * RITA:
  * (noise of frustration)
  * Okay, but hurry!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * One quick, brutal fight with the couch later, and I was up and in the kitchen.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, you’re missing it!
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I didn’t mind missing anything, exactly; I’d tried to get out of this a few times, but Rita insisted, “now that I was caught up”, and then there was the problem of the bet from what seemed like ages ago. So I got the popcorn, gave it to Rita, and went to sit back down, when a holodisk on the table caught my eye.
  * JUNO:
  * Rita?
  * [SOUND: From the screen (with screen scenes, include a bit of fuzz in order to distinguish):
  * AVERY’s character, Lorelai:
  * Yes, of course, everything is in dire straights, isn’t it, but we must carry on, Reginald.]
  * RITA:
  * Boss. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine.
  * REGINALD (from the screen):
  * Of course, Ms. Lane. And might I offer my deepest condolences for your—well.
  * JUNO:
  * Rita, I’m serious. What is this?
  * [SOUND: A button being pressed]
  * [SOUND: A hologram:
  * JULIET:
  * Whatever you’re looking for, I don’t have it!]
  * AVERY’s character, Lorelai (from the screen):
  * My sister, Reginald. We can’t just ignore unpleasant truths because they hurt.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, what did I just say—
  * Oh! Oh, uh, well, I found it upstairs when you were out; it was just kinda standing over you, watchin' you all creepy-like, and, uh, I didn’t like it, so—
  * [SOUND: a button being pressed.
  * DR. HEART (holo):
  * You are a disappointment.]
  * RITA:
  * Uh, Mistah Steel?
  * JUNO:
  * No.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * I clicked through—and through and through and through, the same as before, faces being drawn and redrawn, one after another after another, a crowd of faces, of voices, all at once. But that face, that voice—I couldn’t have imagined it. Not a second time. I kept looking.
  * [SOUND: same as in attic, interspersed with REGINALD’s and AVERY’s voices every so often to indicate the program’s still on in the background]
  * JUNO:
  * Where are you?
  * AVERY (on the screen):
  * There’s power in naming our fear, naming our pain. Being willing to look it in the eye and not falter in its truth.
  * My sister betrayed me, and her name was Madison.
  * RITA:
  * Boss, are you sure this is a—
  * DIAMOND:
  * Juno.
  * [SOUND: guitar riff, JUNO's theme]
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * There they stood—again. Back from wherever they went, after I’d…
  * I had questions, sure, hell, I had more questions than I could deal with, but seeing them again, looking as real, as alive as they’d ever been, all I wanted to do was…
  * [SOUND: Juno reaches out. The same musical light-breaking sound that means a holo has popped.]
  * JUNO:
  * Diamond.
  * RITA:
  * Mistah Steel, you might wanna sit down or somethin'.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * And there was the other thought I’d been avoiding. It was just a voice, just a face, just a… ghost. I’d been haunted before; hell, take your pick, I’ve been haunted by the ghost of every damn time I’d ever messed up.
  * It leaves echoes, shadows in reality, when you mess up big like that—with Juliet, with Hijikata. With… others. If you don’t look at ‘em, don’t say their names, they usually leave you alone—or at least, they stay in your own head, where they can bleed you dry in their own time.
  * What it means when one steps out from thin air, so others can see them, then fades back? Hell if I know.
  * RITA:
  * Boss, it don’t mean nothin’. Could be anythin’.
  * JUNO (NARRATOR):
  * Knowing… knowing everything that happened, it couldn’t be anything good.
  * JUNO:
  * Pass the popcorn, Rita. I’ve got the feeling it’s gonna be a long show.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for the script! This was kind of an experiment in script-formatting and a very different style of writing for me, so many thanks to those of you who were willing to deal with the script format and stick it out 'til the end. Comments and kudos are, as always, appreciated.
> 
> [Link to the very last In Media Res: Juno!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17901059)


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